Video: Listen to the raw V10 scream from F1 at Monza in 2004

13th April 2020

Laura Thomson

Ah 2004, a life before Brexit and the coronavirus, and back when Formula 1 cars were powered by proper engines – none of this V6 hybrid nonsense.

Don’t believe us? Take a trip back in time to the 2004 Italian Grand Prix, and join racing legends including Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Juan Pablo Montoya and Fernando Alonso for these epic first three laps. No music, no commentary, just the noise.

A grid comprising Ferrari, Mercedes, Toyota, BMW, Jaguar-Cosworth, Honda, Renault makes for excellent watching, as the V10 powered monsters scream around one of the fastest tracks of the F1 calendar: the 3.6-mile Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

It was this weekend that Monza became particularly famous for the incredible speeds achieved – both in qualifying and the race itself. During the first part of qualifying, Montoya lapped the circuit in his Williams FW26 at an average speed of 262.242km/h (162.9mph), the fastest lap ever recorded in the history of Formula 1 (that is until Kimi Raikkonen managed an average of 263.587 (163.785mph) with his pole lap of Monza in 2018). During the following day’s race, Montoya’s teammate Antônio Pizzonia reached a top speed of 369.9 km/h (229.9 mph), which was, at the time, the fastest F1 speed ever recorded.

Impressive times, and real racing as we remember it…

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