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Stirling Moss, Ronnie Peterson, Alain Prost and Rubens Barrichello are some of the legends to have won thrice at Monza.

So have Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel and today one of them could move on to four, drawing level with Nelson Piquet.

Michael Schumacher still leads the way on five, mind.

Michelle Smart: It's hot at Parabolica but crowds are up for it and lots of support for Lewis.

Edwin Memphis: It felt satisfying to watch Lewis tearing the grid apart during Saturday's quali sessions from the Mara.

The Italian national anthem is performed up tempo and with plenty of gusto - topped off by a flyover. 

And Lewis Hamilton has a brolly out to keep the sun off.

It has everything.

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Jenson Button is not the only driver to make a big career announcement this week - Felipe Massa will retire at the end of the season.

Andrew Benson has written a fitting tribute to the little Brazilian here.

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While we were patting Lewis Hamilton on the back for finishing third after starting in 21st last week in Spa, we sort of lost perspective on just how good that was for his world championship hopes.

Nico Rosberg could well have overturned the defending champion's lead, but third was good enough for Hamilton come out of the weekend with a nine-point lead.

Plus, he has a big stack of engines he can use after taking a shed load of penalties all on the same weekend.

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It was here at Monza that Niki Lauda returned to racing from the horrific burns he suffered at the 1976 German Grand Prix.

"I nearly, I don't think I can say, but, you know... in my pants because I had such a panic," said Lauda, speaking to BBC Radio 5 live as part of its Italian Grand Prix preview show.

Read more here.

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Just like in Spa, Michael Schumacher is unparalleled when it comes to Italian GP victories.

Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton could pull level with Nelson Piquet on four wins.

Although it's worth noting that one of Piquet's wins came at Imola in 1980 - so in terms of Monza, he is already level with the pair.

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There was a little bit of five-on-five action in Monza this week, as F1 drivers Jolyon Palmer, Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez took on a team of renowned footballers including Dida, David Trezeguet, Christian Karembeu, Michel Salgado and Robert Pires in a charity match.

The game raised £27,000 to aid in the aftermath of an earthquake in Italy last month.

The final score is obviously irrelevant, but the footballers edged it 22-10, for the record.

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Nico Rosberg is being pushed to his grid position and waves a jovial hand at Uncle Bernie Ecclestone to shoo him out the way.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Monza

Max Verstappen has been the centre of attention this weekend following the controversy surrounding his defensive driving tactics against Kimi Raikkonen at Spa last weekend.

The Dutchman started the weekend saying he felt he did not do anything wrong, but that was before FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting asked him in for a chat and told him he needed to calm down.

Whiting’s message was that while he admires his competitive driving, he has to be careful not to go over the top and that sometimes he is too aggressive. In the nicest possible way, Whiting warned him that if he repeats his tactics from Spa, he could be disqualified.

What did Verstappen make of it? “They didn’t see it as something wrong,” he said. “Maybe it was on the edge. And then maybe they would introduce a black-and-white flag if it happened again.” So it’s just a warning to ‘be careful’? “Yeah.”

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The Sun on Sunday are fully expecting another successful day for Lewis Hamilton.

Image source, The Sun on Sunday

This is the Mail on Sunday's take on Jenson Button's plans to not retire, but not race either.

Image source, Daily Mail

being the intrepid journalist I am, I have ventured into Lewis Hamilton's Monza playlist - so you don't have to.

I can report it contains a lot of Drake, some Rhianna, a splash of the Bieber and a bit of Alicia Keys. 

The rest... I have no idea. There's a guy called Bassy G-Eazy. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Monza

Sixth and seventh is somewhat down on what Red Bull have become used to in recent races but Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were not too disappointed with their positions.

The power deficit of the Renault engine was always going to make things difficult at Monza, where unlike Spa there are few corners in which the Red Bull chassis can shine, and they ended up not only behind the Ferraris but also Valtteri Bottas’ Williams. About the race, too, Ricciardo was realistic.

“Fifth is the target,” the Australian said. “We have to try to target Valtteri. It would be nice to do something with the Ferraris. If we can get a good start and maybe split them at the beginning that will help. but if they get away at the beginning it will be hard to claw them back.”

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Monza is oh so celebrated. Revered. Held up as the bastion of Formula 1 romanticism.

But hovering around the glory is a stench of death that lingers stronger than at any other track.

More than 50 motorsport drivers have met their maker at Monza.

Four notable names from the F1 world were taken at this track.

Alberto Ascari in 1955, Wolfgang von Trips in 1961, Jochan Rindt in 1970 (pictured) and Ronnie Peterson in 1978.