We arrived in Stezzano, a small village on the outskirts of Bergamo – this was to be our base for the Monza Grand Prix weekend. As usual for Grands Prix, accommodation close to the track is nearly impossible to come by, so we chose a hotel about 45 mins drive away. Always a fan of boutique hotels, the Art e Hotel sounded perfect – a recently built hotel, on the outskirts of town, filled with local art works.
We weren’t disappointed, the hotel was gorgeous and we loved the fact that the huge window in our room opened fully, with a lovely view! But seriously, the hotel was perfect with plenty of parking, a huge buffet breakfast and just a ten-minute stroll from the centre of the village. On the first evening we asked for a recommendation of a near-by restaurant, and the pizzeria da Michele was suggested to us. As we had been sitting in the car for most of the day, we decided that a walk was in order and we wandered down through the village, once again looking for menthol cigarettes on the way (a rare commodity in Italy!).
On arrival in the Pizzeria, we were warmly greeted by the staff and offered a complimentary glass of Prosecco. We began to browse through the menu and were astounded by the large choice of pizzas and then quickly stunned by the size of them when they arrived. The pizzas were delicious, as were the multiple glasses of wine that we consumed – no designated drivers when you are both walking!
After the pizza we asked if we could take our desserts outside and enjoy them over a cigarette. I quickly noticed some familiar accents at the table next door and we got chatting to a couple of Scottish lads who were also over for the Grand Prix. They gave us plenty of tips and swapped mobile numbers so that we could meet up with them for dinner on the following nights.
After we settled up our amazingly small bill for the quality and quantity of food that we had consumed, we strolled slowly back to the hotel and prepared for the next morning by setting the GPS for Monza and ensuring we had our tickets and earplugs packed and ready.
As we had arrived in Stezzano on Thursday, we were able to attend the Friday practice of the Italian Grand Prix. The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is near the town of Monza, north of Milan. It is one of the most historic motor racing circuits in the world.
The circuit, best 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 F1 cars show the full raw speed they are capable of.
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 for its lack of run-off areas.
As George had been a Michael Schumacher and Ferrari fan for years, he was thrilled to get a chance to finally get to Monza as the circuit is known to be the spiritual home of the Scuderia Ferrari and their passionate supporters, the Tifosi. Although we wouldn’t get to see Michael racing this year as he had recently retired, he would get to see Felipe Massa wearing the traditional red of Ferrari.
We were also anxious for a chance to get close to the (no-longer used) historical Monza banking, but for this first day we were just content to get our bearings and find our seats. The journey in was relatively simple and well sign-posted once we neared the track. We ended up parked at the Stadio Brianteo and took a free shuttle bus into the Parco di Monza. The temperatures were still in the high twenties and we really began to feel them as we walked into the circuit.
I soon realised why there was no scale on the published circuit map – if there had been, then we would have realised that we were in for a 4-mile walk from the bus drop-off point to where our seats were! We slogged in, mercifully along the flat, stopping to look at the many stalls selling F1 merchandise – but really just grabbing a chance to catch our breath!
After getting multiple mis-directions from the track workers, we finally found our stand, directly opposite the pit exit, meaning that we would see the cars formed up on the grid and also at full speed during the race. This meant that taking photos was quite difficult, but we managed to squeeze off a few shots.
We hadn’t bothered getting tickets in a covered stand, as it rarely rains in Monza in September, but we did need to remember to apply sunscreen regularly! When we arrived to the stand for the first time, we found a bunch of Polish F1 fans, who had travelled over to support Robert Kubica. Despite having no language in common, we quickly established a rapport using sign language and drank a few beers with them. They then gifted George with a couple of t-shirts that they had got printed especially for this trip.
We watched the practice laps and some of the other car formats, and then decided to head back out towards the car, taking a different route this time. We needed to conserve our energy for the next two days.
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