{"id":1854,"date":"2026-09-07T12:33:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=1854"},"modified":"2026-09-07T12:33:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:33:48","slug":"alonso-says-monza-is-no-longer-the-temple-of-speed-after-f1-top-speed-drop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/alonso-says-monza-is-no-longer-the-temple-of-speed-after-f1-top-speed-drop\/","title":{"rendered":"Alonso says Monza is no longer the \u201cTemple of Speed\u201d after F1 top-speed drop"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fernando Alonso believes Monza has lost one of its defining characteristics under Formula 1\u2019s 2026 regulations. After the Italian Grand Prix, the Aston Martin driver argued that the circuit can no longer be considered the \u201cTemple of Speed\u201d because the cars are reaching lower top speeds than at several other venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spaniard compared the figures recorded at Monza with those from the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona and the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest. While speeds reached around 350-360 km\/h in Barcelona and 355 km\/h in Budapest, Alonso said the figure at Monza was closer to 312 km\/h.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comments come after a weekend in which straight-line performance was a major weakness for Aston Martin. Alonso had already struggled in qualifying, where he finished 21st, with the AMR26 among the slowest cars through the speed trap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was different from what we\u2019ve experienced so far at Monza. We arrive here and it says we\u2019re entering the \u2018Temple of Speed\u2019. But it\u2019s no longer the \u2018Temple of Speed\u2019,\u201d Alonso said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Barcelona, I think we reached 350 km\/h or 360 km\/h, and in Budapest, 355 km\/h. And in Monza, we were around 312 km\/h. So, it\u2019s no longer the \u2018Temple of Speed\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The loss of top speed is partly linked to the characteristics of the new-generation cars and power units introduced for 2026. At Monza, the effect was particularly noticeable on the long straights, where cars appeared to stop gaining speed before reaching the end of the run. GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> had already highlighted the phenomenon during Friday\u2019s running at the Italian GP. GRANDE PR\u00caMIO\u2019s analysis of the new cars at Monza<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alonso finds little to celebrate in difficult Aston Martin weekend<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alonso\u2019s criticism came during a difficult weekend for Aston Martin. After starting from the pit lane because of power-unit changes made under parc ferm\u00e9 conditions, the two-time world champion retired on lap 23 after running over the kerbs at Turn 7 and feeling something wrong with the car. Alonso explains Italian GP retirement after Aston Martin damage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the lack of performance, Alonso said he at least enjoyed some of the on-track battles with Cadillac during the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were with the Cadillacs, so at least we had a little bit of fun in the race. But, yeah, a difficult weekend,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"F1
Fernando Alonso remained on track for 23 laps before retiring from the Italian GP (Photo: Gabriel L\u00f3pez\/Grande Pr\u00eamio)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Formula 1 now heads to Madrid for the 14th round of the 2026 season. The Spanish Grand Prix will take place from September 11-13 at the new MADRING street circuit, marking F1\u2019s first race at the venue. GRANDE PR\u00caMIO\u2019s latest coverage of the 2026 Spanish GP<\/a> GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> will follow all the action from Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Why is Monza called the Temple of Speed?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Monza earned the nickname because of its long straights, high-speed corners and traditionally high top speeds, making it one of the fastest circuits on the Formula 1 calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was Fernando Alonso\u2019s top speed at the 2026 Italian GP?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Alonso was among the slowest cars in the Monza speed trap, with the Aston Martin struggling for straight-line performance. The driver compared the roughly 312 km\/h figure he cited at Monza with 350-360 km\/h in Barcelona and 355 km\/h in Budapest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When is the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Spanish Grand Prix takes place from September 11-13, 2026, at the new MADRING street circuit in Madrid. It is the 14th round of the 2026 F1 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fernando Alonso compared top speeds at Monza, Barcelona and Budapest to criticise how much F1\u2019s 2026 regulations have changed the characteristics of the Italian circuit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020314242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Alonso questions Monza\u2019s identity after 2026 F1 cars reach just 312 km\/h","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Aston Martin","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[100,325,101,294],"42wp_author":[59],"class_list":["post-1854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-aston-martin","tag-f1-2026","tag-fernando-alonso","tag-italian-gp","42wp_author-fabricio-carvalho"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1854"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1855,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1854\/revisions\/1855"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020314242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1854"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=1854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}