Walk the parklands here at Monza and the history of the grand old autodromo is inescapable. It looms overhead in the magnificent banking and stoically endures below in the cobbles of the old paddock demanding attention through time’s mossy embrace. The temple of speed is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year but this weekend for Ferrari – Monza’s team, Italy’s team – the present is tense. The weight of history hangs heavy, with expectations inevitably high at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza was built in only 110 days in 1922. Finished in July, its first race was the second Italian GP in September that year and established the venue as only the third permanent track in the world, after Brooklands and Indianapolis.
