Where to sit? The best overtaking opportunities at the Italian Grand Prix

Ben McCarthy

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Where to sit? The best overtaking opportunities at the Italian Grand Prix image

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If you have purchased a ticket for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, you may be aching to know where the best places are to sit, to ensure you see as much action as possible.

Although fast, Monza has actually become more difficult for overtakes to be made, because of the more limited effect of the slipstream in these venturi-floored cars and the low-drag set ups that teams pursue, making DRS less powerful than normal.

But do not be alarmed, overtakes are still possible and when they do happen, they are thrilling!

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The Rettifilo Chicane (Turns One and two)

One of many reasons why the Italian Grand Prix is so exciting is because of the start, which is consistently among the most action-packed of the year. The long run towards the first braking zone, and corners, makes multiple position switches possible on the first lap.

But this chicane also appears at the end of a DRS zone, so is one of the more common places for a move to be crafted.

Over the years, decisive moves have been made on the inside and outside of the first turn. Lewis Hamilton’s race-winning pass, on Kimi Raikkonen, in 2018 was made on the outside of turn one. That afforded him the inside line at turn two, which quickly followed.

But Daniel Ricciardo’s late-braking divebomb overtakes of Raikkonen and Bottas, in the two years prior, were both magnificent in equal measure.

The della Roggia Chicane (Turns Four and Five)

The combination of a traction zone, on the exit of turn two, and the long run through the flat-out Curva Grande, means that yet more overtakes are possible into Monza’s second chicane.

Ricciardo loved a pass through this sequence, too, when he dummied his then-teammate Sebastian Vettel to the inside, in 2014. But overtakes are encouraged on the outside too, because of the short run between the first and second turns of the chicane.

And Oscar Piastri demonstrated this on the opening lap of last year’s race, when he stunned his McLaren teammate Lando Norris, by darting to the outside and edging through, once he had the racing line, at turn five.

But such is the tightness of this chicane, it is common for the defending driver to the lose at least one more place. Norris then dropped behind Leclerc, last year, and in 2018 Sebastian Vettel slipped to the back of the grid after he touched with Lewis Hamilton, who made a very similar move to Piastri.

The Ascari Chicane (Turns Eight, Nine and Ten)

At the end of the only other DRS zone at Monza, this part of the track was modified in 2024, giving it more compliant kerbing. But the entry into the Ascari Chicane is still tight.

More of an overtaking opportunity for drivers who are clearing non-competitors, in the hope of not being held up through the remainder of the lap, Sebastian Vettel smartly motioned past Sergio Perez’s Force India, as he continued his recovery drive in 2018.

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Ben McCarthy

Ben McCarthy is a freelance sports journalist, commentator and broadcaster. Having specialised his focus on football and Formula One, he has striven to share and celebrate the successes of both mainstream and local teams and athletes. Thanks to his work at the Colchester Gazette, Hospital Radio Chelmsford, BBC Essex and National League TV, he has established an appreciation for the modern-day rigours of sports journalism and broadcasting.