03/09/2019
NEWS STORY
The Italian Grand Prix is one of the most iconic races in Formula 1. It has featured on every World Championship calendar since 1950 and the race has been held at Monza every year, except once, in 1980, when it was staged at Imola.
Monza was the world's third purpose-built racetrack, after Brooklands in the UK and Indianapolis in the USA. It was constructed in 1922 and the layout has been revised considerably over the years, perhaps most significantly in 1972, when two chicanes were introduced to slow the cars. But the Autodromo remains the fastest track in F1; the cars exceed 320km/h (200mph) on four occasions around the lap and they average 218km/h (135mph).
Carlos Sainz: "After a difficult weekend in Spa in all senses, I'm looking forward to heading to the next race, which fortunately is only a few days away. We know that we have areas to work on and we are focussed on maximising our performance throughout the weekend. Spa was a clear example that the midfield battle is going to be tough until the end of the season so we need to keep pushing.
"Monza is an incredible and historic track and the Italian fans are some of the most passionate in the world, so the atmosphere at the track is always very special. I'm looking forward to getting back on track and giving it 100%."
Lando Norris: "Despite the disappointment of the last race, there were a number of positives that we could take from our performance on Sunday. We had stronger pace than expected during the race and I was on course for my career-best result. I'm aiming to take that performance into the next weekend and challenge for points in Monza.
"It's a track I know quite well having taken part in FP1 and Formula 2 last year and I've also raced there a few times before in the junior formulae. It's a very quick track, the quickest of the year, which means it's also one of the most exciting circuits on the calendar."
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: "We head to Monza for the final European race of the calendar before heading into the final fly-aways. There were plenty of lessons to learn from Belgium and we head there with a better understanding of the areas we need to improve. As ever we must continue to ensure our reliability is as strong as it possibly can be, as well as continuously working on our trackside operations. The Monza circuit is a uniquely quick track which requires a very specific set-up in order to maximise performance. We must ensure that our work on Friday and Saturday sets us up for the strongest possible race on Sunday and we get the most out of every session.
"Finally, as we leave the European leg of the 2019 season behind us, I want to thank and congratulate our hospitality colleagues in the McLaren Brand Centre. Their efforts to provide us with a home away from home at each European track are greatly appreciated by both the team and our guests alike."
Race laps: 53
Circuit length: 5.793km/3.600 miles
Total race distance: 306.720km/190.596 miles
Distance to Turn One: 380m/0.236 miles
Number of corners: 11 (seven right, four left)