This is my spectacting guide to the Laterale Destra grandstands at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. These are grandstands 26A, 26B and 26C.
In my guide I’ve included my top tips on picking the bests seats in these three stands, videos of the views, plus some extra tips on how to get tickets for these seats even when they seem to be sold out elsewhere.
Contents
Monza Grandstand 26 Laterale Destra location
At the Monza Italian Grand Prix circuit, grandstand 26 Laterale Destra is split up in to three seperate stands – 26A, 26B and 26C. These are all directly adjacent to each other, and situated along the left hand side of the start / finish straight.
Laterale Destra means ‘right side’, and they’re called that because these stands are on the right of the Centrale grandstand. Sometimes you’ll also see these referred to as Tribuna Laterale Destra.
These grandstands are the higher, covered part of this section of grandstand along the main straight. Directly in front of these stands, lower down without a roof, are the Gradinate Traguardo bleachers, but this guide doesn’t cover those.
The start line is just to the left of this grandstand 26A the pit lane and garages is directly opposite all three stands, and the podium is just off to the right of grandstand 26C.
The last place car on the F1 grid will be in grid position 22, and that is in front of grandstand 26B.
The nearest entrance to this stand is gate A and B which is just a 5 minute walk away. But the shuttle buses which take people to the circuit drop off close to gate G, and that’s a 30 minute walk away.
The main F1 fanzone is on the other side of the circuit close to Turn 10 on the outside of the track. To get therey you’d need to go through two tunnels beneath the track and it would probably be a 20 minute walk.
These grandstands, especially 26C, have the best view of any grandstand at the circuit of the iconic podium celebration. So you can take it all in from your seats.
But if you want to join the tens of other thousands of fans for the track invasion then you’re well positioned to enter via one of the gates. Usually there’s one pretty much directly in front and to the right of this stand, but it’ll get busy. So you’ll need to leave your seats 5 or 10 minutes early.
There are lots of food and drinks vendors directly behind this grandstand.
Grandstand details
Cover
All the Laterale Destra grandstands are covered with a roof over them. But it’s a high roof, so those in the front few rows might be a little exposed to the weather. These stands face East so you’ll be shaded with the sun behind you from early afternoon onwards.
Seats
The seats in these stands are individual plastic chairs.
TV screens
There are two TV screens visible from this stand. These are on the other side of the circuit on the pit buildings. There’s one either side of grandstand 26B, so one in front of 26A and one in front of 26C.
These two images were taken from grandstand 26B:
Monza Grandstand 26 Tickets
This is a super popular grandstand at Monza for the F1. So tickets often sell out FAST. If that’s the case but you still want to sit here I’d recommend buying your tickets through ViaGoGo instead where there’ll be a good selection of tickets still for sale right up to race day.
And if you keep watching the ticket prices in the last few days before the GP weekend you might be able to grab a bargain as prices tend to fall. That’s what I usually do.
I’ve bought my F1 tickets through ViaGoGo over the last couple of seasons. That includes when I went to the British, Belgian and Dutch Grand Prix. I’ve always had a great experience using their tickets and won’t hesistate to do so again next time.
And for added peace of mind they have their ‘Fan Protect’ guarantee which protects your tickets and money – that’s always given me extra confidence to use them.
Monza Grandstand 26 Seating Plan
Below is the seating chart for grandstand 26A, 26B and 26C Laterale Destra at Monza. It’s a massive image which is too large to host on this page so if you enter your name and email address in the boxes below and hit send they’ll be sent straight to your inbox.
The rows start at A lowest down and increase to O highest up at the back. Seat numbers begin at 1 on the right hand side of 26C and increase continuosly across all three grandstands. So seat numbers are highest at the left hand end of 26A (as you sit in the stands and look at the circuit).
View
The image below shows the areas of the Monza circuit visible from the three Laterale Destra grandstands in green:
As the map shows, from these stands you have a view that goes from the exit of the final corner Turn 11 on your right to further along the pit straight, past the start line, to your left.
Plus you’ll be able to see in to the pit lane and pit garages. The higher your row the easier it will be to see over the pit wall.
The other thing to watch out for are the pillars that support the roof. The seating plan above shows where these are located (the white spaces in amongst the other seats). These pillars take up space in rows D and E, so the adjacent seats in those two rows, plus the seats directly behind them in rows F, G and H directly behind them should be avoided as they can be obstructive to your view.
The view differs slightly from each of the three grandstands so below I’ll provide some videos from 26A, 26B and 26C.
Grandstand 26A
Grandstand 26A is the closest to the start line and is directly in line with grid positions 7 to 14, so you’ll be able to see the mid pack line up right in front of you. But it’s also furthest away from the podium.
Remember also that the pit garages put the slower teams closer to the end of the pitlane. So this grandstand will be opposite the slowest couple of teams.
This video was filmed from grandstand 26A Row E:
And this video, whilst it doesn’t show much of the track, gives you an idea of the view from the front row, Row A:
And this 360 degree image shows the view from the far left hand end of the stand, seat 475 Row L:
Grandstand 26B
Grandstand 26B is in the middle of the other two parts of this stand. It’s in line with grid positions 15 – 22, so you’ll be able to see the back half of the grid lining up at the start of the race.
For the pit garages, this stand is opposite the teams which finished in the middle of the field in last year’s constructors standings. If you get the lower seat numbers then you’ll be closer to the garages of the front running teams.
This video shows the view from Row H Seat 270:
This video shows the view from slightly further to the right, around seat 200 Row H, for the crazy track invasion and podium ceremony at the end of the race:
Grandstand 26B
26B is the furthest to the right, closest to the exit of Turn 11 and closest to the podium. It’s also opposite the pit garages of the front running teams.
This video was filmed from the fourth row back, Row D seat 132:
And this was slightly further to the right, closer to the podium, filmed from Row C seat 80:
Best seats
Personally I think the best seats in the Laterale Destra grandstand at Monza are those in grandstand 26C. In this stand you’re close to the podium so have a fantastic view of that amazing cermony after the race, you’re opposite the pit garages of the front running teams, plus you have a view of the cars exiting the final corner to your right.
Which row and seat to pick in 26C though? The lower your seat number the closer you’ll be to the podium, so lower is better. And because this stand is raised high up off the ground, even the front rows will have a nice elevated view, so row choice isn’t that critical.
The only thing worth considering is that the front few rows probably won’t be shaded in the morning, but they will be from midday onwards.
Is this a good place to sit?
Grandstand 26C has the best view of any grandstand at Monza of the podium ceremony. Because the post-race track invasion and podium is such an iconic moment, then this this really is a fantastic place to sit. It’s one of my favourite stands at the Italian Grand Prix.
But even if you can’t get 26C, 26B and 26A will also give you visibility of the podium, the pit lane and the start of the race.
