Monza F1 GP - Tips for a 1st Timer
Discussion
Have travel, accommodation and tickets booked for the Monza race weekend at the start of next month, staying in the Corvetto district of Milan
Looking for any tips on how to get to the track Fri / Sat / Sun as well as good viewing spots with a General Admission ticket.
I'm sure there are some PHers who have been to this race before?
Looking for any tips on how to get to the track Fri / Sat / Sun as well as good viewing spots with a General Admission ticket.
I'm sure there are some PHers who have been to this race before?
K50 DEL said:
Have travel, accommodation and tickets booked for the Monza race weekend at the start of next month, staying in the Corvetto district of Milan
Looking for any tips on how to get to the track Fri / Sat / Sun as well as good viewing spots with a General Admission ticket.
I'm sure there are some PHers who have been to this race before?
Not been since 2017, but we got the train from Milan Centrale to Monza station on Friday and Saturday, then a free shuttle from the station to the entrance of the park where the circuit is. Then it’s quite a long walk to the circuit.Looking for any tips on how to get to the track Fri / Sat / Sun as well as good viewing spots with a General Admission ticket.
I'm sure there are some PHers who have been to this race before?
Sunday we got the train to Biassono, which is just behind the Lesmos, and just a short walk to get into the circuit.
Take decent walking shoes as you’ll cover a lot of ground! Also waterproofs, some kind of shade, and sun cream. Most of the stands are open, and we had all four seasons in the three days. Got soaked and frozen on the Saturday, and sun burnt on the Sunday!
Also, take a pad/cushion to sit on in case you do get in a stand. The stands at Ascari are just concrete steps, and the stands into the first chicane were just metal benches.
Make sure you explore the old banked circuit, and have a good walk round the track and the park, you can feel the history!
It was everything we wanted it to be, even though Ferrari sucked and Merc dominated.
Piginapoke said:
I'd read those beforehand, sadly this trip is a treat for a friend and she was adamant that it be Monza....I'm really hoping the token system is not used this year. and that we can take water in.
I have at least managed to book car parking a few minutes walk from the track, so don't have to worry about buses and trains
Chucklehead said:
hopefully they scrap the concept of beer tokens this year... and even more so, hopefully they buy enough beer this year.
I'm driving to the track each day so not bothered about the beer, definitely hoping that the token system for water is scrapped though (either that or they allow us to carry water in - last year apparently they refused)I have actually emailed the organisers to see if they can confirm the token / water situation.
Chucklehead said:
Last year if I remember correctly you could take in water but you had to take the lid off the bottle and toss it in the bin. I may be misremembering, as unlike you, I was more concerned about the beer situation 
They used to do that at concerts when I was living in the middle east - as there was no pat-down however I just used to take a few spare bottle caps in my pockets - job done!!I went last year, made a bit of a road trip of it, drove from home (Birmingham) and stayed in lake Como. We had tickets for Friday Saturday and Sunday. It turned out to be a wise move as we used Friday to get a feel for everything so we knew what to do on Saturday.
We stayed at lake Como and got the train to Monza, a relatively quick process and not overly busy. Much like here they have fast trains and slow trains, if you do get the train just make sure you get the right ticket! On the second day we unwittingly got on the fast train and got stung by the ticket inspector!
From Monza train station they put on buses to take you to the circuit, you can walk it but it’s a bit of a mission. There weren’t many queues on Friday but Saturday and Sunday were really busy, we tried to be out by 7am each day to beat the crowds but even that didn’t really help, especially on race day. Buses took about 40 mins from memory, they drop you into the park and it’s a good 20 minute walk to the circuit, you’ll pass a load of unofficial food, drink and merch stands but just note the bag searches on the way in. They are a bit lax so if you want to take food or drink in, wrap it in a jumper or something so they can’t see it. They were confiscating metal water bottles and you had to get a ticket and collect them at the end, a bit of a faff so take a plastic one. As noted above they were taking bottle caps for some reason! Take a spare in your pocket.
The bag check and ticket check took about 20 mins on the Friday, 40 on the Saturday and a good hour on the Sunday. I thought Saturday was busy but Sunday was on another level!
The circuit is huge and there is quite a bit to see and do so make sure you leave plenty of time, Friday was fairly quiet, so much so that people without grandstand tickets could get in and find a place to site. Saturday and Sunday you have no chance it was absolutely heaving! They ran a token system for the drinks and food, it was a cashless / cardless site for that stuff. If you do want to buy food and drink, get there as early as possible to get the token, people were queuing for hours. Food and drink queues were also bad, to be honest it was pretty much a free for all so you might have to get your elbows out of you want a beer! There were free water stations, again a bit of a queue but they moved pretty quickly, there were lots of toilets and they were regularly cleaned so that was good.
Make sure you go to the old banked circuit, bar the actual f1 this was a real highlight, pictures can’t really put into words how steep it is but it’s worth giving it a go and trying to get to the top. Security did come and move everyone off the old track at one point so pick your timing carefully!
The fan park is pretty good, after the race they had a dj on and a bit of a party. The atmosphere was pretty good, worth a visit to see even if it’s not your thing.
They put the parade lap cars on display, that’s worth a good look too.
If you time it right on your walk in, you might get to see the ferrari drivers come in. They drive from the hotel (which you’ll pass on the bus) which is close to the circuit with a police escort.
The bus back is a nightmare, we must have waited a good two hours and we didn’t leave the circuit till around 9, even then the queues were massive. If poss, avoid or make a break for it early, or very late (or walk to town, if your legs can manage it!)
Monza seemed like a nice town, we had a meal there one night, think it was Saturday and a little look around, they had a bit of a car show on.
As I said, this was my first Grand Prix so I have no comparison but the atmosphere all weekend was great, even the queueing and the organisation couldn’t put a damper on it!
Hope that helps, just some pointers as they sprung to mind!
We stayed at lake Como and got the train to Monza, a relatively quick process and not overly busy. Much like here they have fast trains and slow trains, if you do get the train just make sure you get the right ticket! On the second day we unwittingly got on the fast train and got stung by the ticket inspector!
From Monza train station they put on buses to take you to the circuit, you can walk it but it’s a bit of a mission. There weren’t many queues on Friday but Saturday and Sunday were really busy, we tried to be out by 7am each day to beat the crowds but even that didn’t really help, especially on race day. Buses took about 40 mins from memory, they drop you into the park and it’s a good 20 minute walk to the circuit, you’ll pass a load of unofficial food, drink and merch stands but just note the bag searches on the way in. They are a bit lax so if you want to take food or drink in, wrap it in a jumper or something so they can’t see it. They were confiscating metal water bottles and you had to get a ticket and collect them at the end, a bit of a faff so take a plastic one. As noted above they were taking bottle caps for some reason! Take a spare in your pocket.
The bag check and ticket check took about 20 mins on the Friday, 40 on the Saturday and a good hour on the Sunday. I thought Saturday was busy but Sunday was on another level!
The circuit is huge and there is quite a bit to see and do so make sure you leave plenty of time, Friday was fairly quiet, so much so that people without grandstand tickets could get in and find a place to site. Saturday and Sunday you have no chance it was absolutely heaving! They ran a token system for the drinks and food, it was a cashless / cardless site for that stuff. If you do want to buy food and drink, get there as early as possible to get the token, people were queuing for hours. Food and drink queues were also bad, to be honest it was pretty much a free for all so you might have to get your elbows out of you want a beer! There were free water stations, again a bit of a queue but they moved pretty quickly, there were lots of toilets and they were regularly cleaned so that was good.
Make sure you go to the old banked circuit, bar the actual f1 this was a real highlight, pictures can’t really put into words how steep it is but it’s worth giving it a go and trying to get to the top. Security did come and move everyone off the old track at one point so pick your timing carefully!
The fan park is pretty good, after the race they had a dj on and a bit of a party. The atmosphere was pretty good, worth a visit to see even if it’s not your thing.
They put the parade lap cars on display, that’s worth a good look too.
If you time it right on your walk in, you might get to see the ferrari drivers come in. They drive from the hotel (which you’ll pass on the bus) which is close to the circuit with a police escort.
The bus back is a nightmare, we must have waited a good two hours and we didn’t leave the circuit till around 9, even then the queues were massive. If poss, avoid or make a break for it early, or very late (or walk to town, if your legs can manage it!)
Monza seemed like a nice town, we had a meal there one night, think it was Saturday and a little look around, they had a bit of a car show on.
As I said, this was my first Grand Prix so I have no comparison but the atmosphere all weekend was great, even the queueing and the organisation couldn’t put a damper on it!
Hope that helps, just some pointers as they sprung to mind!
We are going to Monza this year (first overseas F1 race) It’s through motorsport travel so we get included shuttle bus from hotel to circuit Saturday and Sunday so hopefully we get out a bit quicker than most - I cannot find any information on whether they are running the token system this year- I hope not as Imola announced they had scrapped the idea of following Monza after last years shambles so hope Monza also scrap it this year.
My wife and I are going too, leaving U.K. Thursday afternoon and driving down so will miss Friday. Staying near Bergamo airport.
I went in 2018 and we drove and parked somewhere (can’t remember where) and it was all pretty smooth to get in although was a long walk.
The bottle tops is a great tip. I remember that from last time. Good to see they may let you take bottles in though. Will also hope to take a picnic in.
Having been to Budapest and Silverstone (quali) this year I really appreciated the organisation of Silverstone. I suspect Monza will be like Budapest.
I went in 2018 and we drove and parked somewhere (can’t remember where) and it was all pretty smooth to get in although was a long walk.
The bottle tops is a great tip. I remember that from last time. Good to see they may let you take bottles in though. Will also hope to take a picnic in.
Having been to Budapest and Silverstone (quali) this year I really appreciated the organisation of Silverstone. I suspect Monza will be like Budapest.
Paft Dunk said:
When I went they took my sunscreen off me (and others) at the bag check as well as water. I was in a bad way on a hot day, spent most of it hunting for shade in the woods.
They've issued new guidelines this year (I've printed them out in Italian just in case) that clearly state 1 bottle of water, max 500ml can be carried in - nothing about sunscreen or food though, I'll try both on Friday and see!Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff