A Quick Italian Grand Prix Race Guide

It’s time to head to the Temple of Speed for one of the most iconic races on the F1 calendar: the Italian Grand Prix in Monza! This is a classic race at a classic track. And while it lacks the bells and whistles of some other Formula 1 races, it’s nevertheless a favorite for drivers and fans alike — especially if you’re a Ferrari fan!

Monza has been a staple race on the F1 calendar since F1 has existed. The Autodromo Nazionale Monza was one of the first purpose-built race tracks in the entire world, and F1 has raced here every year except one since its inception in 1950.

Here’s your mini Italian Grand Prix race guide, including all you need to know about tickets, where to sit, the fan experience, what you can bring to the track, and more.

Quick race guide to the Italian GP

Here’s everything you need to know if you’re headed to the Italian Grand Prix this year, or are interested in traveling to the Monza F1 race one day in the future.

Official race name

Officially, this is the FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAN PERMIO D’ITALIA.

When is it?

The Italian GP takes place September 4-6, 2026 (local time). The schedule is:

Friday, September 4th: Practice 1, Practice 2
Saturday, September 5th: Practice 3, Qualifying
Sunday, September 6th: Race

Race location

The Italian Grand Prix takes place at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, which is a purpose-built circuit within a large leafy park (Parco di Monza) in the city of Monza in the north of Italy. The circuit is 5.793km (3.599 miles) long, and drivers race 53 laps here.

Constructed in just 110 days in 1922, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza was the world’s third purpose-built race track, with the original circuit featured a daunting series of banked curves, as well as much of the “outfield” section that’s still in use today. Monza was part of the original Formula 1 calendar in 1950, and has held the Italian Grand Prix every year since except one (1980, when it was held at Imola).

The circuit is also known as “the Temple of Speed” due to its long straights and high-speed corners; in fact, Monza is regarded as the fastest F1 track, with top speeds regularly reaching 350 kph (217 mph).

Monza is on the F1 calendar until 2031 currently.

Getting to the track

The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is located within a large, walled city park called Parco di Monza, and it’s not exactly convenient to reach since it’s a good 5+ kilometers away from the Monza train station.

You *can* technically drive to the circuit, but you’ll need to purchase a parking pass in advance and then be prepared to take a shuttle bus from the parking lot(s) to the track itself. This is probably the least-popular way to get there, though.

You can also use a combo of the Milan metro and buses to reach the circuit. For this option, you can take the Milan Metro Line 1 (red line) to Sesto 1° Maggio FS station (near the S. Giovanni train station) and then catch the Z221 bus towards MACHERIO or MARIANO. You’ll ride 25 stops to the VEDANO AL LAMBRO Battisti/IV Novembre bus stop, which is outside of Parco di Monza. You’ll walk about 10 minutes into the park. This bus also stops outside the Monza train station, but it will be much harder to get on there!

The most popular way to reach the circuit is to take the train and then use a shuttle bus.

Monza is on the Milan-Chiasso line, reached by Milan suburban train lines S8, S9 and S11, and is the terminus of the lines to Lecco and Molteno. If you’re coming from Milan, they usually add extra trains on to/from Monza during F1 weekend, and they leave pretty frequently from Milano Centrale, Milano Porto Garibaldi, and Sesto San Giovanni stations in Milan. (You can also take trains to Monza from other nearby cities.)

Once at Monza train station, follow the sea of people to the line-up for the Black Line Shuttle Bus, which will drop you off outside the circuit. You can purchase single or round-trip shuttle tickets before you get on the bus for €5 per person round-trip.

If you’re traveling from Milan, Trenord usually offers a combo train + shuttle bus ticket for €10 per person per day. Here’s the page for last year’s ticket. There’s also another combo ticket for other locations within the Lombardy region; this combo ticket is €13 per person per day.

Italian GP ticket options

I always recommend checking ticket options through the host circuit first. For the Italian GP, check out:

MonzaNet for general admission (labeled as “Circolare Prato” on track maps), grandstand tickets, and official venue packages.
F1 Experiences for speciality hospitality packages and VIP packages.

Tickets for Monza go on sale almost a full year in advance (tickets for the September 2026 race went on sale roughly 1 week after the September 2025 race), though they tend to release them in batches over the course of several months. Tickets for the most in-demand grandstands, Sunday tickets, and weekend passes tend to sell out first, and it usually ends up being a sold-out weekend.

For the Italian Grand Prix, single-day tickets are available, as well as three-day ticket packages.

Best place(s) to sit

Subjectively speaking, you can’t go wrong with seats in the main grandstand area along the start/finish straight at Monza, especially Grandstand 1 (Centrale) and Grandstand 26 (Laterale Destra), with Laterale Destra A (26A) being the cream of the crop for being able to see main straight, pit lane, and podium action all from your seat. These main grandstands become a sea of red-clad Tifosi (especially if Ferrari is doing well), and the atmosphere is electric!

Other popular grandstands include ones near Turn 1 (Grandstand blocks 6 and 8), and ones around Parabolica (Grandstand blocks 21-24).

Circolare Prato, or general admission, tickets here are less desirable, as the GA areas are on the small side, completely uncovered, and usually pretty crowded. I personally don’t think GA at Monza is a very good value!

The fan experience

All ticket holders at the Italian Grand Prix have access to the main F1 Fan Zone (usually set up behind the Ascari and Parabolica grandstands), where you’ll find food stands, interactive activities, team merch, photo ops, and more. This is also where the main stage is where they do driver interviews on Friday and Saturday.

When we went to Monza, the Fan Zone also had some of the nicer toilet options, with actual toilets that were stocked with toilet paper instead of just pota-potties.

The Fan Zone has been undergoing improvements in the last couple years, and it gets better and better each year as more investment is poured into the track.

What you can/can’t bring

Knowing what you’re allowed to bring to the race and what’s prohibited is important when planning your Italian GP weekend! Here’s a quick overview so you’re prepared.

Monza F1 bag policy

Technically speaking, there’s a bag policy that only bags/backpacks under 15L are allowed into the circuit. In practice, though, no one’s going to be measuring your bag. A normal-sized backpack, purse, or tote bag is going to be fine. They just don’t want people bringing in suitcases or duffel bags.

Things you CANNOT bring to the Monza circuit include:

Your own alcohol
Weapons or items that can be used as weapons
All glass and metal containers (including canned drinks)
Hard water bottles*
Soft water bottles larger than 500ml*
Large powerbanks (more than 300g)
Umbrellas with metal tips
Fireworks, smoke bombs, laser pointers
Aerosols (this includes aerosol sunscreen and bug spray)
Drones
Bicycles, scooters, skateboards, etc.
Tents

*You CAN bring your own water bottles to the circuit, either empty or full and sealed. They have to be 500ml or less, and only plastic bottles are allowed. Last year, security did not really enforce this on Saturday. But on Sunday they were indeed confiscating larger bottles, as well as metal water bottles. To be safe, just go purchase some 500ml bottles before you arrive and bring those to re-fill throughout the day.

Things you CAN bring include:

Soft water bottles 500ml or less
Small umbrellas
Cameras and lenses for personal use
Tripods, monopods, and even selfie sticks
Small foldable chairs (not wood)
Blankets and seat cushions

And what about food? I don’t think outside food is technically allowed, but lots of people do bring their own snacks to Monza!

Track invasion info

The track invasion following the race at Monza is one of the most iconic on the F1 calendar. And if Ferrari gets on the podium, it will be pure chaos!

They open the gates close to the finish line first (the closer you are to Grandstand 26, the better chance you’ll have of getting under the podium), but they also open several other gates around the track, including near Seconda Variante and Parabolica.

After the race is over, the track gates stay open for a while (in 2025, the track remained open for about 2 hours after the race), and you’re free to walk the entire track if you want! We actually didn’t know this, but managed to briefly get on the track at Parabolica before we left the circuit.

Other race weekend events

The Italian Grand Prix is really all about Italy — and Ferrari. Some other teams will have pop-ups and small activations in the center of Monza, but it’s Ferrari that you’re going to see the most. They always do a big fan event with the Ferrari drivers in central Milan a couple days before race weekend, too.

What else to do in Italy

Lastly, if ever you wanted to plan a longer trip around an F1 race, this is perhaps one of the best races to do it! Monza is located in northern Italy, close to incredible cities like Milan and Bologna, the great Italian lakes like Como and Garda, and of course the home of Ferrari in Maranello.

You can absolutely plan a great week-long trip in Italy! Along with going to the race at Monza, some other things you can do include:

Spend some time in Milan; visit the roof of the Duomo, and book a ticket to see the Last Supper painting.
Take a day trip to Lake Como.
Visit Parma to see its beautiful cathedral, and to tour a cheese factory.
See the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena.
Do all the Ferrari things in Maranello, including touring the Ferrari Museum.
Take a track tour at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari (AKA Imola).
Visit Bologna, home to Kimi Antonelli and some of the best food in Italy (take a food tour here!).

Who’s ready for the Italian Grand Prix?