162.9mph! That was the average speed of Juan-Pablo Montoya’s record lap round Monza.
Let that number sink in. The accompaining video is astonishing. Imagine for a moment, driving a 900hp, 700kg formula car with massive sticky tires and huge aero at the ragged limit of physics, with a whailing 3.0L v10 at 19,000rpm behind you.
You can’t, no mortal can. We’re talking about going 220mph+ in an open cockpit car. These were the glory days of F1. The fastest qualifying lap around Monza today is a respectable 1:24.251; that’s nearly five seconds slower than Montoya’s 1:19.525, a massive gap. Those days may be gone, but we can still appreciate the breathtaking footage left behind.