The Italian Grand Prix was first held at Monza in 1922 and the circuit has been a part of every World Championship season except one (1980). As such, the history and the stories from the Autodromo rival those from anywhere else.

Over the years some of the most poignant and exciting races have taken place at Monza, and it is worth remembering a few of those exciting moments before next week’s race.

1950

The Italian Grand Prix was the final race of the year and three drivers had a chance to claim the World Championship. Juan Manuel Fangio was the clear favourite and had been the form driver all season. He was ahead on points and put himself in the best position to seal the title by taking pole position.

However, it wasn’t to be for the great Argentinean. Gearbox problems destroyed his victory hopes and when he re-entered the race in his teammates car, it broke down also. It gives him the unique distinction of being the only Formula One driver to retire from the same Grand Prix twice.

Nino Farina started the race sitting third in the championship standings, and took advantage of Fangio’s misfortunes to claim victory and the inaugural Formula One World Championship.

So gearbox problems gifted the championship to the driver who had been third in the title chase. Sounds a little familiar doesn’t it?

1967

Jim Clark was undoubtedly one of the fastest Formula One drivers of all time and his accomplishments are the stuff of legend. The flying Scotsman’s finest hour came at Monza in 1967 when he produced arguably the greatest drive in the history of Grand Prix racing.

Jim Clark won more races than anyone else in 1967 so it was no surprise to find him on pole position at Monza. He promptly sprinted into the lead once the race started and pulled out a significant gap over the field.

Disaster struck the Lotus driver on lap 13 though when a puncture forced him into the pits. Clark dropped to the back of the field and went a lap down on the leaders.

What happened next was amazing. His afternoon was only just beginning.

Clark started lapping three seconds quicker than anyone else and was soon back on the lead lap fighting with the backmarkers. He was not about to give up and was producing phenomenal speed.

In the dying stages of the race Jim Clark had amazingly overtaken most of the drivers twice and inherited first position with seven laps to spare. It was an incredible performance and he would have claimed the greatest win in history if his Lotus had not run out of fuel on the very last lap.

Heartbreaking.

1971

The old Monza circuit, sans chicanes, was the closest thing that Formula One had to oval racing. The epic slipstreaming battles in the Italian Grand Prix all those years ago produced some of the closest and fastest races of all time, so it was very fitting that the final of those races in 1971 was the closest and fastest of them all.

Nine different drivers had a turn leading the race which featured 26 ‘official’ overtaking manoeuvres for first position. That is quite a high number because those manoeuvres can only be measured by noting who crossed the line first at the start of each lap. Numerous lead changes occurred out the back of the circuit and were never recorded by officials on the start/finish line.

At the start of the final lap there were still five men who had a chance at taking the win. None of them had ever won a Grand Prix before, and each remained in contention as they entered the final parabolica corner. The leading two drivers, Francios Cevert and Ronnie Peterson, raced each other very hard but in doing so let the others line up alongside them on the exit. In a five way battle to the line, Peter Gethin took a stunning victory. The car that finished fifth was only six tenths of a second behind him.

In 1972 chicanes were added to the Monza layout in the name of safety, and the likes of Gethin’s victory have never been seen again.

1976

Niki Lauda’s fiery crash at the Nurburgring in 1976 was one of the most horrific accidents that any driver has been able to survive. The Austrian suffered massive burns, broken bones, and damaged lungs from the accident, and was in such a bad state that he was given the last rites in hospital.

However, Lauda wanted nothing else than to defend his first World Championship and returned to the track after just six weeks of recuperation. He made his gallant comeback at Monza in front of the Ferrari faithful.

Lauda’s wounds were still weeping blood and he could not blink to move the tear droplets from his eyes. His body was still weak but his mind and heart weer as strong as ever and he raced brilliantly to finish in fourth.

Every now and then a driver will take part in a Grand Prix suffering from the flu, or nursing a muscle strain. However, no one has ever competed with the same conviction of Niki Lauda, having just walked back from the brink of death. His fourth place that day was not overly skilful or exciting, but it was one of the most heroic performances in F1 history. You will be hard pressed to find a drive that summoned up more bravery than Lauda’s efforts that day in Monza.

1988

Enzo Ferrari’s death in 1988 had a significant impact on Italy as some people considered him more powerful than the Prime Minister. He was revered throughout the land for creating something that all Italians could be proud of, and success for Ferrari has always been success for Italy.

The 1988 Italian Grand Prix was run just a month after Enzo’s passing and a massive number of Italians made the pilgrimage to Monza to say farewell. The atmosphere was emotionally charged and the two Ferrari’s responded by producing once of their best qualifying efforts of the season, lining up third and fourth on the grid. There was no chance of the Scuderia beating McLaren, who had taken every race victory that year, but there was an opportunity to land a podium and that is what the tifosi were hoping for.

That podium looked very good when Alain Prost’s McLaren suffered engine failure, but the race took an even more dramatic turn when Ayrton Senna crashed the sister McLaren in the dying stages. Hundreds of thousands in attendance watched in amazement as Ferrari came through to score an unlikely and highly unexpected one-two victory. It was the only race that Ferrari won all year. Many romantic fans believe the ghost of Enzo Ferrari was at Monza that day and emotions understandably spilled over onto the circuit.

1998

Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen were locked in a ferocious battle for the 1998 World championship as the season rolled into Monza, but things were not looking good for the Scuderia. The Italian circuit was much better suited to McLaren than it was to Ferrari and Schumacher needed all the help he could get to overcome a ten point deficit before the final two races of the season.

McLaren were expected to dominate, but Michael gave the loyal tifosi some hope by planting his Ferrari on pole with a Monza-special qualifying engine. Any hopes that he could exert such superiority during the actual race were dashed at the start when he dropped to fifth, leaving David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen up front.

Amazingly, just like they had ten years before, the McLaren team spectacularly self destructed. Coulthard was leading the race on lap 17 when his engine blew, leaving a thick plume of blue smoke all over the circuit. Hakkinen and Schumacher both slowed and drifted wide to avoid the oil, and Mika even went as far as the riding the grass.

That was all the incentive that Michael needed. He lined up Hakkinen entering the second chicane and forced the McLaren off line, sliding past on the exit. It gave him the race lead, and it got even better when Hakkinen’s brakes failed, opening the door for a Ferrari one two.

The red team ended up winning a race that seemed destined for their rivals, and it enabled them to take the World Championship down to the wire.

Here’s hoping we have another similar exciting race this coming Sunday.

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