Experiencing a Formula 1 race live was one of my big dreams. And this year, completely unexpectedly and unplanned, I managed to fulfill this dream. Moreover, with a win for Ferrari at the home circuit of Monza in Italy. How does the entire race weekend go and what would I recommend from my experience for visiting the races? You will find out in this article.
Monza - the temple of Formula 1 speed
Ferrari fans are nicknamed "„fans„". Simply "fan". When it is said Monza, so you imagine tens of thousands of tifosi around the track, cheering, shouting and chanting every time they pass by The red monopost will drive away.
And when this red arrow wins on his home track, it's indescribable. All of Italy is on its feet, celebrating and glorifying its hero. As if he were God.
You can experience exactly this atmosphere. It's only 850 km from Prague.
Where to get tickets for Formula 1 at Monza Circuit
You can get tickets a year in advance directly at official website Monza circuit. You have at your disposal cheapest standing tickets, but where you are not guaranteed a place or a screen, more expensive tickets for the stands, and also the most expensive for the main stand or VIP packages.
If you want communicate in Czech and maybe use some trip, when you don't have to worry about anything, then you can use the page Czech Sports Travel, where a friend bought tickets. But they were a little more expensive than directly on the circuit's website.
Transport from Prague to Monza
The Monza circuit is located near Milan and is quite easy to get to by car or plane.
Travel by car
Travel by car it's not complicated at all. From Prague the route runs practically the entire way along the highway. It is about 850 km. First to Pilsen, then to Germany to Munich, from there to Austria to Innsbruck and then via the Brenner towards Milan.
In addition to gasoline, you need to add highway vignette in Austria, and toll (11 EUR Brenner, 15.60 and 8.40 then motorways in Italy for each journey).
The whole journey took us about 11 o'clock. We left Prague on Thursday before midnight and watched the first Formula 1 free practice live on the circuit.
Travel by plane
From Prague to Milan is relatively good air connections and you can find tickets in advance for a few hundred. If you don't know how to find tickets, check out my page How to get tickets, which will help you. However, you must take into account that to get to and from the airport and to the ring road you will have to use local public transport or taxis, which may then be more time-consuming or more expensive. Based on my personal experience, I would not be afraid to choose the car route.
Accommodations
When looking for accommodation, as always, I recommend booking.com or Airbnb. As with any big event, expect that the closer the accommodation is to the circuit, the more expensive it will be during Formula 1.
Another complication is that you won't find many hotels in Monza itself, and you will most likely be staying with a private host or sharing accommodation on Airbnb.
We lived approximately 30 km from the circuit in a hotel in Rho. When we had a car to commute, even such a distance was not a problem. Moreover, the price of the hotel was about a fifth of that in Monza.
Road to the circuit and parking
If you have a car, there is nothing to worry about. You can drive to the circuit. You can park in one of the official parking lots, where the price of parking for one day starts at 20 Euros Even then, you will still be waiting for a shuttle bus to the circuit. With the more expensive options, you can get closer to the circuit, but there are a limited number of places and according to the application they were fully booked. So, take a look at the circuit's website, you will find details here.
So we tried a different option. The Monza circuit is located right in the city. in a large park. So we didn't go to the parking lot, but we tried to go near the park from the south side. And here we found a place in the alleys. We succeeded. I would say that no one knew much about this option, because there was quite a lot of space in the alleys around. You just need to follow the signs – some places are only for an hour or two, others are paid. But there were also plenty of free ones.
Monza Circuit
You can enter the circuit area through several entrances. In front of each one, you will find security check. There are things you can't take with you, although when we saw what people brought to the circuit, we wondered how they managed it. For example, no spray is allowed and backpacks are checked quite thoroughly. Of course, you can't have any alcohol, weapons, glass objects, bottles larger than half a liter, etc.
You can use any entrance to enter. However, you may have to walk a lot of steps before you find your seat, or perhaps a grandstand.
After the tour, you beep your ticket and go. Be careful, if you have a three-day ticket, You'll tweet the same thing every day., so don't throw it away after the first day. There are no wristbands given out, like at concerts. Here you have your ticket and you show it to enter the stands (if you have this seat).
After entering, you Walk around and explore the entire area. You know what you can find where. There is a big f hereAnouškov zone, places where you can buy food and drinks, but also refill your drinking water for free (bring an empty bottle with you – but only up to half a liter).
Take a walk around the track too, so you can will you find a place, from where you will watch the race. Unless you have a ticket to the stands.
What you will find on the premises
Food
There are several places throughout the area where you can have something good to eat. Prices are you could say acceptable. You can choose from many options. For example, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, pasta, bagels, meatballs, chicken nuggets, fries and many more.
Water
Free drinking water you can get a drink at several places located all along the circuit. You may encounter queues between races. Especially if you have been burning in the sun all weekend. But despite the queue, the wait wasn't that long and we always took water with us. With the money you can then buy, for example, Coke or other sweetened and unsweetened drinks, bottled water, beer, etc.
Toilets
You can use either classic ceramic toilets with running water, sinks, soap, or "toitoics", which were also plentiful everywhere, but in this heat... well, what can I tell you, I prefer a classic toilet.
Attraction
In fan zone There are various attractions that you can take advantage of. You can try changing a tire, get blown out in an exhaust simulator, see real formula cars up close, or go to interviews with pilots or listen to a DJ who fills in the breaks between races.
Weekend program
A weekend at the circuit, it's not just Formula 1. It's here accompanying program, which will keep you entertained during all three racing days. They are Formula 3, Formula 2, Formula 1 training and qualifying, Porsche Cup races or even historic formula races. There's always something going on.
How to find the best places
If you don't have a grandstand ticket, but you're saving like us and have a standing ticket, you have no choice but to walk around the circuit on Friday and Saturday and look for some nice place for a Sunday, where you can see something. The ideal places are those where you can see the screen and where there is a grandstand. They also have some standing areas prepared. stands, which are not numbered in any way, so they operate on a first-come, first-served basis.
We liked three places where we thought it would be nice to watch the race. I marked them with an arrow on the map.
On straight before Parabolica you'll see the formulas going full throttle.
In bullying Ascari variant You can stand in front of the screen, so you can see the Formula One cars going through the corners from one side and you can look at the screen from the other. But unless you get a seat by the fence, it doesn't really make sense.
And third place, the best for us, but also the most crowded, was in the bullfighting. Variant of the Roggia. There are stands and a screen here. But if you don't get a place in the stands, you won't be able to see much at the fence either, because there's a higher barrier... So people solved it by going to the woods to get various logs and branches and using them to build raised places at the fence.
Sunday in Monza
Sunday is the main day, when all the races take place. The first one starts already early morning, so it's good to come to the circuit as early as possible and grab your spot for the whole day.
We took the seat closest to the entrance – the straight before the Parabolica bend. When we arrived, many of the seats were already taken. The ones in front of the screens were the most crowded. So we sat a little further away, in the shade of a tree. It was really useful because the heat was devastating.
I tried to go around our other two places, but they were already packed and hopelessly full. Those people must have been sleeping there too... I don't know.
The program has been running since morning and the races are taking place in rapid succession. So the day is passing quickly, there is no boredom at all and the start of Formula 1 is approaching inexorably.
Italian Grand Prix Formula 1
I have to say that seeing all 20 formulas in front of you after the start was amazing. full throttle and hear roar of engines is a truly incredible experience. And for every Formula 1 fan, it is definitely unforgettable.
Just like atmosphere the whole race. But when you add to that the fact that Ferrari is leading the race back home in Italy and you're a Ferrari fan, it's hard to believe, and every time it passes you, You cheer, you shout, you clap, and you raise your fists., just like all the tifosi around you. Just experience. An experience you have to experience for yourself.
But as for the race itself, if you don't have a screen in front of you, you don't have a complete overview of it (I put the TV commentary on my headphones so I could see what was going on).
But even so, to see Ferrari win at home in Italy at Monza, that was one of my dreams. And it came true.
How much will this weekend cost?
- 3,000 CZK cheapest ticket per standing (210 Euros per standing with a grandstand in Parabolica, other grandstands from 387 Euros to 1,200 Euros).
- 3,000 CZK accommodation per person 30 km from the circuit.
- 2,500 CZK trip – gasoline, highway vignette, toll (calculated per person for 2 people).
- 500 CZK (approximately) each meal on the circuit (type hamburger and fries, pizza, etc.).
So together around 13,000 CZK (I count food and other things at 1,500 CZK per day) as low cost.
But it was worth it!
