From tragedy in 1961 and 1978, to slipstreaming heroics and jubilation at home success for its beloved Ferrari, Monza has played host to some of the best and worst of Formula 1.
It was at Monza where Peter Collins, despite being in contention for the 1956 world title himself, stepped out of his Ferrari and handed over to Juan Manuel Fangio, enabling the Argentine to clinch the crown.
PLUS: How Britain’s lost Ferrari star epitomised a bygone F1 era
Phil Hill scored the last win for a front-engined F1 car in 1960 when organisers reintroduced the banking to favour Ferrari, while the 1971 edition produced grand prix racing’s closest-ever finish, with Peter Gethin’s winning margin just 0.01s over Ronnie Peterson after a race that featured 25 official lead changes. Click here to find out more about that race in the latest edition of Autosport’s “Short View Back to the Past”.
Here, Autosport’s team of writers have picked their Monza favourites.
1988, Ferrari scores emotional 1-2 soon after Enzo’s death – Charles Bradley
Senna’s clash with Schlesser opened the door for an emotional Ferrari 1-2, the only time in 1988 that a McLaren was beaten in a grand prix
Photo by: Motorsport Images
“And spin! Senna!” TV’s Murray Walker was on his rev limiter as Jean-Louis Schlesser became an unlikely national hero at the 1988 Italian Grand Prix, causing a Ferrari 1-2 and breaking McLaren’s stranglehold on the season.
Schlesser, driving at Williams to sub for Martin Brundle (barred from taking part by his Jaguar sportscar team boss Tom Walkinshaw) who previously at Spa had subbed for the chicken-poxed Nigel Mansell, outbraked himself on the penultimate lap of the race just as dominator Ayrton Senna came up to lap him.
JLS skittered wide of the first apex of the left-right Rettifilo chicane, allowing Senna space on the inside. Then as the Mercedes-Benz sportscar star Schlesser (after this sole F1 start he was beaten to the World SportsCar Championship by Brundle) clumsily slid over the sand and across the kerb at the right-hand apex, he made contact with Senna’s right-rear wheel and removed the Brazilian from the race.
Live TV missed the shunt while focusing on the tense duel between the Arrows of Eddie Cheever and Derek Warwick. There’s a video of this race on YouTube with natural sound only; as you watch the Arrows in battle, you can hear the massive cheer from the crowd at the first chicane as Senna gets spun out…
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