Even if we weren’t Formula 1 fans, it would be hard not to be carried away by the excitement when Ferrari won the Italian Grand Prix at their home track of Monza Circuit last weekend. In a contest that played out to the final laps, Ferrari driver Charles LeClerc picked up the lead when McLaren driver Oscar Piastri pitted for fresh tires with 20 laps to go. The local fans, clad in Ferrari red and waving banners bearing the team’s prancing horse logo, cheered loudly every time LeClerc passed by in the lead.

But as Piastri closed the gap on fresh tires, it seemed unlikely that LeClerc would be able to maintain the lead with tires that were already 18 laps old when Piastri pitted. But hold on he did, and the fans went wild when LeClerc took the win on 38-lap-old tires. Bearing huge banners, attendees swarmed the track towards the podium to celebrate the victory and watch LeClerc receive the winner’s trophy. We were reminded of the scene in Buenos Aires when Argentina won the World Cup in 2022.

The Ferrari fans are the most enthusiastic we’ve seen in any sport, with Ferrari ranking third in popularity in the country after soccer and the Pope. Fans wearing Ferrari-red filled the stands and local streets. At a hotel where some Ferrari drivers often stay, the driveway and fences around the property were lined with hopeful fans, looking for an autograph or a sighting. Where no fence space was free, they lined up along hedges and stuck hats through for signing.

Monza Circuit is currently the fastest track in the Formula 1 season. Built in 1922, and hosting the Italian Grand Prix since 1949, it has been an important venue since well before James first started attending Formula 1 races in 1972. Seeing Ferrari win at their venerable home track was thrilling, and more personal for us in that we watched from their Paddock Club suite and met several team members at the track and during various events over the weekend.

The Paddock Club includes a viewing area over the pits plus access to the pit lane itself, where we spent ages watching the teams prepare their cars.

With our Paddock Club tickets, we also could walk through the “backstage” paddock area behind the garages, a good place to spot Formula 1 drivers and celebrities.

Another highlight of the weekend for James was a hot lap around the circuit in an Aston Martin DBX707 with racing and stunt driver Jessica Hawkins. It was an exciting run, at speeds up to 140 mph (225 kph), and James was quite impressed with the car’s handling. The video below shows the in-car feed and Hawkin’s view of the lap, along with car and track telemetry.