Top 10 most memorable moments in F1 Italian GP history

The Formula One fever returns to the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza for the 2023 Italian GP – one of the marquee events in the F1 calendar. With such a rich and long history that dates back to the early 1950s, today, we take a look at the top 10 most memorable moments in F1 Italian GP history. 

10. 2022: Daniel Ricciardo’s victory

There’s no denying that Daniel Ricciardo’s move to McLaren was a failure for both parties, however, the Honey Badger redeemed himself and his reputation to some extent after winning the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. 

While both Daniel and his teammate Lando Norris were extremely competitive that weekend, a bizarre incident between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton helped his cause as the Australian stormed to the front and maintained his lead to register his 8th career race victory. 

9. 1956: Fangio’s Dramatic Win

The first decade of the F1 World Championship saw Monza host the final round of the calendar, which means many titles were decided there, and 1956 was no different. 

Peter Collins and Juan Manuel Fangio were the lead protagonists heading into the final race, with a win for Collins securing the championship if Fangio failed to score any points.

As it turned out, Fangio’s car broke down, and his teammate Luigi Musso refused to forfeit his car to allow Fangio to finish the race. However, in a shocking turn of events, Collins stepped out of his car to give Fangio a chance to finish the race. By doing so, Collins forfeited what would be his only shot at a Championship, while Fangio would go on to claim his fourth Championship title. 

8. 1976: Niki Lauda’s heroic drive 

After his near-fatal crash at Nurburgring, many believed the 1976 championship leader would call it a day and make a potential comeback the following season. 

However, in only the third race since his horrific crash, the Austrian driver got behind the steering wheel of his Ferrari. Even the Prancing Horses had no idea its driver was set to make his return, resulting in having to field three cars after signing a new replacement driver. 

7. 1988: In honor of Enzo 

In 1988, McLaren were the most dominant team, winning every single race up until the Italian GP. 

During the race, both McLaren drivers faced issues and had to retire, leaving Ferrari’s Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto to take a 1-2 finish at the team’s home race. It was already a highly emotional event for the Tifosi and the team, as the team’s founder, Enzo Ferrari, had died mere weeks before. Thus, to record a 1-2 win against all odds was a fitting tribute to the great Enzo Ferrari. 

6. 1993: 360-degree flip 

This is something that we might never get to see again. Minardi drivers Pierluigi Martini and Christian Fittipaldi were nearing the finish line of the 1993 Italian Grand Prix when disaster struck. Martini ran into the back of his teammate, which sent his Minardi into the air; it completed a full 360-degree flip before landing back on its wheels. 

Although neither driver lost or gained any position after the incident nor was it a battle for the win or podium places, this freak event lives long in people’s memories even today. 

5. 2019: Leclerc wins it for Ferrari 

Ferrari went into the 2019 Italian Grand Prix without a win in their home race for nearly a decade – Fernando Alonso being the last Ferrari driver to do it back in 2010. 

However, with a much-improved car, Charles Leclerc, fresh from his win at Spa, stuck it on pole and then fended off two dominant Mercedes cars to stand on the top step of the podium. 

4. 2020: Pierre Gasly’s maiden win

The 2020 Italian GP is one for the ages. No one would have picked AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly as a potential race winner for the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, but that’s exactly what happened. 

A well-timed pit stop before a safety car helped Gasly rise from 10th place to the front of the grid; he then inherited the lead when leader Lewis Hamilton was given a stop-and-go penalty for entering the pit lane when it was closed. 

In the end, Gasly held off McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. to take his first F1 victory. This race would eventually go on to break several F1 records. 

Pierre Gasly became the first French F1 driver to win a race since 1996, while the AlphaTauri-McLaren-Racing Point podium marked the first time since 2012 that an F1 podium didn’t have a Red Bull, Mercedes, or Ferrari driver on the podium.

3. 2008: The day a champion was born 

The 2008 Italian Grand Prix saw the rise of a future world champion, Sebastian Vettel. 

In a season where the championship was contested between four drivers from Ferrari and McLaren, with the ever-consistent BMW and Renault teams to give company, it was Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel who stunned the F1 fraternity when he took his first-ever pole position, followed quickly by his first-ever race win. 

At 21 years old, he earned the title of the youngest driver ever to win a Formula 1 race; that record was only broken eight years later by Max Verstappen in the 2016 Spanish GP.

2. 1967: Clark unlaps himself to win the race

British driver Jim Clark led the 1967 Italian Grand Prix until lap 13, when a deflating tire saw him pit and rejoin the race plum last and a lap behind the leaders. 

What followed was probably one of the greatest drives ever witnessed in racing history. Clark set a blistering pace and soon began setting laps three seconds quicker than everyone else. One by one, Clark unlapped himself and eventually took the checkered flag.

1. 1971: The closest finish to date 

The 1971 Italian Grand Prix holds a special record: It was the closest finish in Formula 1 history and will likely remain that way. 

The way the cars were set up, it was slipstream paradise for the drivers as they slipstreamed one another through the race. In the end, the top five drivers all crossed the finish line in a span of just 0.6 seconds, with Peter Gethin taking his first and only F1 victory, piping Ronnie Peterson at the line by just one-hundredth of a second. 

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