Autodromo Nazionale Monza — Attraction in Monza

The following impressions should help those who want to go to Monza for a race for the first time. Our initial situation was that we bought standing-room tickets as a group (150 euros per person) and moved into a hotel in Monza. Unfortunately, I can't really say much positive. The organisation is not worthy of an F1 race: -The journey there and back: Especially at the entrance at the Lesmo it was a pure catastrophe. On Sunday there was a queue at least 2 km long at 08:00, so it's better to get in directly at Gate C. The train only goes there very rarely, there are no shuttles and by car you are only stuck in traffic jams as there is only one access road. Taxis and Ubers are barely available which is crazy. -Catering: Credit card payment (in a time after Corona) was not possible, you had to buy tokens for which you had to queue sometimes 30-45 minutes, with which you could then buy food at the food stalls. The token stations were completely overrun and emptied several times before you could buy anything. Similar story with the beer, even on friday. -Standing room: For 150 euros per person, you'd think you could find at least a halfway decent spot to watch the race. Unfortunately, there are hardly any spots for the mass of people, which is why we went home before the race on Sunday. It's a pure fight, people steal benches, rubbish bins, climb on trees or have fetched tree trunks from the forest to stand on. If there were enough screens (every 50-100 metres) it wouldn't be such a problem, just in Lesmo 1 and 2 however there is one, maybe 2 small screens. -Entrance: There are too few entrances and the ones that exist are way too small. You have to wait 1-2 hours to even get onto the ground. Controls are also carried out at whim. On Sunday, part of our group was at the track at 07:00, but it still took 1.5 hours to get in and they still didn't find a good place. Sometimes people sleep on the track and reserve the places. -Toilets: Absolutely disgusting as they are hardly cleaned. -Another example of the structure: The entrance and path at the Parabolica to the Ascari variant is already rather narrow for the mass of people. Now someone has thought that tokens and food stalls should also be placed there. As a result, there is now a path where thousands of people walk, on which huge queues have formed for the stalls, making the passage much more difficult, if not almost impossible. Other: To show once again what a low level the whole thing is at: The national anthem is sung before the race, which is important for the Italians, and the sound on the screens in the Lesmo fails. How can something like that happen?

Conclusion: Our experience was a pure catastrophe and we now know for the next race (no matter where), only with fixed seat tickets.

By the way, some genius thought having a Jovanotti concert at that same time in Monza would be a...

Review of Monza Autodrome – F1 Weekend 2025

The Monza Autodrome is, without question, an iconic circuit steeped in Formula 1 history, and attending the Grand Prix is an unforgettable experience. That said, our visit this year left us with very mixed feelings due to several organizational shortcomings.

On Friday, we tried the shuttle bus (black line) from Monza railway station, only to find the frequency and journey time highly inefficient. It was so slow that on Saturday and Sunday we opted to walk instead – roughly three miles – which turned out to be not only faster but also quite manageable.

Security checks were another major issue on Friday. The number of personnel on Friday was ridiculous, the process of opening and checking bags was painfully slow, taking us over an hour and a half at the entrance. Then another hour and 10 minutes at one of the largest stands at the first chicane. Queue-jumping was widespread, and little seemed to be done to control it, creating frustration for those waiting in line. Saturday and Sunday we arrived before 9am to make sure we didn't miss what we wanted to see.

Facilities inside the circuit were inadequate. The number of toilets was simply insufficient for the size of the crowd, leading to extremely long queues – even during racing. This, combined with swarms of flies, made the experience uncomfortable. Moving around the circuit was equally difficult, with numerous pinch points creating bottlenecks. At one stage, fans forced open a newly built underpass out of sheer frustration at the wait times.

On the positive side, the food trucks were excellent. There was plenty of variety, and the pizzas in particular were outstanding – highly recommended. The racing itself was exciting, even if the result was disappointing for us as Lando Norris supporters. The large screen provided a clear view of the on-track action, which enhanced the experience.

However, the exit on race day was, as expected, chaotic. Congestion around the circuit was severe, as not enough surrounding roads had been closed to aid fan movement. The Monza train station could not cope with the volume of people either, leading to astronomically long queues. While we travelled on towards Lecco, friends of ours reported spending nearly four hours just trying to leave Monza.

In summary, while the atmosphere, history, and on-track action make Monza special, the organizational aspects fell well short of expectations. With better planning around transport, security, facilities, and crowd flow, the overall experience could be vastly improved. Be prepared to queue a long time...

This was not my first F1 race but it will absolutely be my last in Monza.

Despite its great history and the beautiful scenery at at the Parco di Monza, the F1 weekend at Monza did not live up to 100 year anniversary of Motor GP in Italy or satisfy the price paid.

Public Transportation & Arrival -There is not nearly enough public transportation to bring everyone from Milan, waiting times at Milan central of over 2 hours (trains run every hour in the normal schedule). On the way back expect to wait over 3 hours to get a train and standing shoulder to shoulder alla Tokio Metro. -once you arrive at Monza, it is still a hour walk, or you try your luck with buses, which will make you think the train was a luxury cruise From the final station, the walk to your seats will likely be 30 minutes plus. the line into the park (30 degree sun and no shade) makes you squeeze shoulder to shoulder with strangers for over 20 minutes

Parking & Shuttles -By car is the only manageable way to get to Monza with anyone with small children or the elderly/infirm in their party. -Tickets can still be bought on race weekend, and for 33 euro you get a parking spot and a shuttle (15min drive every 10 minutes). For more you can park directly in the track -From Shuttle drop off, it’s around a 30 minute walk to the entrance. -if you can get a taxi to Monza, do it, but on the way back you won’t find one.

Seating and cleanliness -for 400 euros we sat on concrete slabs built in the 80s with no view of a TV screen or shade to speak of The entire park is littered with trash and often smells of urine as there are not enough toilettes or trashcans

Services and “amenities” -Now we get to the piece de resistance, the „amenities“ at the Parabola, seating over 60.000 people there is one entrance for ticket check (we got hit by police cars and people stared panicking after not moving for 30 minutes) Additionally, there are 10 portapotties for the section, which explains the rancid smell of Urine in many areas of the Forrest Drinks and food can only be bought with tokens, problem is that there are only 3 places to buy tokens at the parabola, meaning lines over 1 hour throughout the weekend. if you are about to faint and need a sip of water, why not get in the „free“ water line staffed by one person with one hose and a 30 minute line.

All in all this was a despicable weekend which brings to shame Monza, F1 and...