The Observer

I'm really excited about Monza this weekend. Who wouldn't be? The world championship is building to a thrilling climax with four drivers from two equally matched deadly-rival teams, all in with a shout of claiming the title. That doesn't happen very often.

But if I'm honest, my anticipation about catching the flight to Milan's Linate airport has little to do with the title fight. After all, there are still four races after this one, so there's still a long way to go.

And let's face it, the odds on a thrilling race are long on the evidence of the previous Grands Prix we have watched this year. Ferrari, McLaren and their drivers might be neck-and-neck, but the actual racing spectacle has been poor this season.

No, the real reason I can't wait for my flight to Italy is simply down to the place I'm heading for. If you love motor racing, you love Monza.

There's magic in the air of the parklands of Villa Reale. An unmistakable atmosphere hangs in the trees, almost as if 85 years of history is dripping from their branches.

Kimi Raikkonen testing the Ferrari at Monza © LAT

There is nowhere else quite like it. Spa-Francorchamps and even modern-day Silverstone, which is hard to recognise as the place that opened in 1948, remain evocative.

But the many ghosts of Monza's past and the fact that much of the place is as it has always been makes this place special. Only the Nordschleife, with its similarly atmospheric taste and beautiful landscape, is in the same league.

The 'dirty air' nature of modern F1 cars and the blight of the chicanes neutered Monza's old slip-streaming character years ago, of course. But it remains the fastest track on the Formula One calendar - and is so much more dangerous than a modern Tilke-drome.

The march of progress might be irresistible, but some things - or more specifically, some places - don't really change.

I cling on to this belief - admittedly with some influence of sentiment - with a firm grip when it comes to assessing the state of modern motor racing. Despite everything, the essence of the sport remains intact.

With this in mind, and as the perfect preparation for my trip, I decided to do a bit of research on Monza's birth and its first Italian Grand Prix. What I discovered was unmistakably familiar.

Our Teddington office is blessed with a fabulous resource when it comes to research. You can learn so much about the past as it was seen at the time from back issues of magazines. So I turned to the bound volumes of the oldest motoring magazine still in existence: Autocar - or to be accurate, The Autocar, as it used to be back in 1922.

That was the year Monza's essentially unchanged layout was carved between the trees in the Royal Park. What I didn't know is that it was built in just 110 days - that's just four months, at a cost of 9,000,000 lira! Tilke, eat your heart out.

A preview in an August issue of The Autocar includes photographs of men digging the tunnel where the track would pass under the banked oval section, and another shows them at work on a long avenue lined by trees.

The article heralds an event to rival the greatest motor race of the time, the French GP (ok, so some things have definitely changed, I admit). Four years after the Great War "ex-enemy nations" were lining up to go into battle again.

They were undoubtedly attracted by the prize fund on offer, on a par with Bernie's TV money in modern F1 today. A total of 3,000,000 lira was up for grabs, plus an unusual award for the winner - a royal crown used in past coronations of kings of Italy and also the coronation of Napoleon 1st! I bet that's one Ron Dennis would love to display in his Woking trophy cabinet.

1936 Italian Grand Prix, Monza © LAT

The cash fund and crown were the prizes for the 2-litre race, but there was a separate fund for the light car race, too. The events were held a week apart, the 1.5-litre race on September 3 and the 2-litre duel on September 10. Confusingly for us today, both carried the name of the Italian GP.

But despite this, there is still only one winner of the 1922 Italian GP - because the heroic Pietro Bordino won both races.

The first race to be held at Monza, on September 3 85 years ago, was run in conditions we could do with a repeat of this weekend. Yes, it was raining. And it was run on the unique lay-out of road course and banked oval that made Monza (in)famous.

Fiat was the dominant force in GP racing back in '22, and the Italian cars delivered a perfect 1-2-3-4. They also cemented Monza's reputation for high speed.

Despite the rain, the 1.5-litre Fiats exceeded Felice Nazzaro's 2-litre French GP-winning average at Strasbourg earlier that summer, and got close to equalling the 1.5-litre average in the 200 Mile Race at Brooklands. Bordino averaged 83.25mph for just under four and a half hours - about half the speed of a current Italian GP, but over twice as long!

There were only nine starters, and it doesn't sound like a thriller. But The Autocar still raved about the spectacle: "There were never any dull moments, for one always had the impression that the drivers were racing and not merely running in procession." Remember that on Sunday, won't you.

Bordino's victory was heralded by the large, noisy and enthusiastic crowd, and he was carried shoulder-high in front of the main grandstands.

Seven days later, an estimated 150,000 people watched Bordino repeat his victory, this time defeating the great veteran Nazzaro.

The Autocar reported: "Such a number has never been gathered together for any motor race in Europe, and those of us who have been in the habit of pointing to the French GP races as the high-water mark of public enthusiasm and efficient organisation must now give the place of honour to Milan."

The passion of The Tifosi was born. They even invaded the track - just as they probably will on Sunday.

As I said, nothing changes.