The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is a motor racing circuit in the Royal Park of the Italian city of Monza, northeast of Milan. Since the inaugural race on 3 September 1922, automobile and motorbike races have been held on the almost six-kilometre-long track. In particular, Monza has hosted the Italian Grand Prix since the introduction of the Formula 1 World Championship in 1950. Only in 1980 was the race moved to Imola at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari. In September 2017, the track name Autodromo Nazionale di Monza was changed to Monza Eni Circuit for 3 years until 2019.
Because of its long straights and the high proportion of full throttle (at around 70 per cent, the highest proportion of full throttle of any Formula One circuit today) Monza is also known as the last high-speed circuit of the modern era. With the "low-downforce set-up" developed especially for this track and the extremely flat wings, the highest speeds of the entire Formula 1 season are achieved here. After Michael Schumacher had reached a speed of 368.8 km/h in 2003, this record was broken in the two following years, first by Antonio Pizzonia (369.9 km/h) in 2004 and finally by Kimi Räikkönen in 2005 with 370.1 km/h, which is still unsurpassed today. A change in the engine regulations for the 2006 season subsequently prevented such speeds from being achieved again. With the average speed of 247.6 km/h achieved by the race winner Schumacher, the 2003 race is also the fastest Formula 1 race ever. Previously, this record had also been held by a race at Monza, the 1971 Italian Grand Prix, in which Peter Gethin drove at an average of 242.6 km/h, but at that time before the installation of chicanes.