The Italian Grand Prix (Gran Premio d'Italia) is one of the longest running events on the motor racing calendar. The first Italian Grand Prix motor racing championship took place on September 4, 1921 at Brescia. However, the race is more closely associated with the course at Monza, which was built in 1922 in time for that year's race, and has been the location for most of the races over the years.

The 1923 race included one of Harry A. Miller's rare European appearances with his single seat "American Miller 122" driven by Count Louis Zborowski of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fame. The Italian Grand Prix counted toward the European Championship from 1935 to 1938.

The Italian Grand Prix was one of the inaugural Formula One championship races in 1950, and has been held every year since then. The only other championship race for which this is true is the British Grand Prix.

After winning the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher announced his retirement from Formula 1 racing at the end of the 2006 season. Kimi Räikkönen replaced him at Ferrari from the start of the 2007 season.

Monza - The Italian Grand Prix Circuit

The site has three tracks – the 5.793 km Grand Prix track, the 2.405 km Junior track and a decaying 4.25 km high speed track with steep bankings. Major features of the main track include the Curva di Lesmo, the Curva Parabolica, and the Variante Ascari. The high speed curve, Curva Grande, is located after a slow corner but usually taken flat out by Grand Prix cars.

The circuit, better known for hosting the Formula One Italian Grand Prix, is notable for the fact that drivers are on full throttle for a higher-than-average percentage of the lap due to its long straights and is usually the scenario in which the open-wheeled F1 cars show the raw speed they are capable of (372 km/h during the V10 formula). It is mostly a flat circuit but has a notable, but gradual, gradient from the second Lesmos to the Variante Ascari. Due to the low aerodynamic profile needed, the grip is very low, understeer and the resulting slide can hurt overall speed and are more serious issues than at other circuits, however, the opposite effect, oversteer, is also present in the second sector, requiring the use of a very distinctive opposite lock technique. It is said that drivers can set relatively decent lap times from the beginning without much effort, but in order to set competitive times, drivers must make use of all of their skill at every corner and chicane, since both precision and aggressiveness are required, especially during qualifying. Since horsepower is the key for speed on the straights, only competitors with enough power at their disposal are able to challenge for the top places.

The Monza circuit has been the arena of some of the most tragic episodes in Formula One racing, especially in the early years of the world championship. Since those times, modifications have been introduced to improve spectators safety and reduce curve speed, but it is still criticized by the current drivers by its lack of run-off areas, most notoriously at the chicane that cuts the Variante de la Roggia.

The circuit is also known to be the spiritual home of the Scuderia Ferrari and their passionate supporters, the Tifosi.