Where speed went to die: Inside the Ghost of old Monza

The old circuit of Monza, was part of the new one today, hidden behind the grandstands and modern tarmac lies a forgotten relic, the old high speed banking, once part of the same circuit.

It rises quietly from the trees, cracked and overgrown, we will share photos and a video below, for those who know its story, it represents one of the boldest and most dangerous experiments in F1 history.

A Monument Built in 110 Days

It was born in 1922, built in just 11 days, the country wanted a racing circuit that would match its growing automotive influence, Monza became exactly that and high speed temple to Italian engineering!

However, the circuit we know today is only half the story, in 1950s, engineers decided to combine Monza’s traditional road course with a banked oval designed for pure top speed.

Interesting fact is that there were no proper safety barriers, no runoff zones and only thin hay bales separating drivers from disaster, many drivers had questions whether it was possible to race there safely.

Where Speed Went Too Far

By the mid of ’50s, racing here had become a test not only of speed but of bravery, F1 cars of that wera were fragile and unpredictable, weak brakes, tires barely were able to withstand the loads created by the banking.

In 1957, ‘Race of two worlds’, Monza’s oval hosten an extraordinary showdown between European manufacturers and US IndyCar teams, the event combined American oval racing philosophy with European GP machinery, producing speeds that exceeded 280 km/h.

Legends like Moss and Fangio described the experience as terrifying at the old Monza circuit, Moss admitted that even short stints on the banking left him physically sick from the vibrations.

The Concrete Got Hungry

The banking part was very dangerous with numerous accidents, in 1955, Maria Teresa de Filippis, one of the few female drivers of the era, flipped her Maserati over the barriers and miraculously survived.

By the early ’60s drivers had begun to boycott the layout altogether, Phill Hill, later a world champion described racing there as something you prayed your way through.

The final blow came after the 1961 Monza tragedy, when several cars crashed on or near the banking during a race weekend. The oval section of Monza was used one final time in 1969, more as a farewell than a competition, after that it was abandoned.

The Banking Today: Nature Reclaims the Track

Walking there now you can still trace the shape of the turns, the concrete remains though fractured and uneven, Moss and weeds push through the cracks, and young trees have taken root on the very surface where F1 cars once raced.

Atmosphere is quiet, fans still visit, some leaving spray painted tributes to the drivers who risked their lives, others come to make photos what’s left before it fades completely into the forest.

The contrast with modern Monza is striking: a smooth, precise racing facility on one side, and just a few hundred meters away, the ghost of a circuit that once tested the limits of courage and engineering.

The Monza banking remains an essential part of motorsport history. It reflects a time when speed was pursued without restraint, when the idea of safety was secondary to spectacle. Engineers viewed danger not as a flaw, but as part of the sport’s identity.

Monza is historic, lets not forget the moment when Michael Schumacher said goodbye to the Italian fans in 2006 for the last time, that was the most emotional moment of one of the best drivers in history of Formula 1.

Today, the old oval serves as a reminder of how far Formula 1 has come — from reckless experimentation to a data-driven science of precision and safety. Yet for all its danger, the banking also embodies something irreplaceable: the audacity to build, to test, and to push beyond reason in the name of progress.

It is more than concrete. It is the fossilized shape of racing’s wildest years — and it still stands, silently, in the woods of Monza.