Pirelli Hot Lap at Monza: What it’s like to be driven around a Formula 1 circuit
Have a need for speed (and plenty of cash to splash)? Consider a Pirelli Hot Lap – the opportunity to be driven around a Formula One circuit by a professional racing driver. Tamara Hinson buckles up for a high-speed lap of Italy’s famous Monza circuit.
“I’ve never had someone throw up on me when I’ve driven Pirelli Hot Laps,” Haas Formula One driver Ollie Bearman tells me shortly before my Pirelli Hot Lap at Italy’s legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit.
Which, I suppose, is a good thing. This is, after all, an experience thrillseekers pay significant sums for, forking out several thousand dollars to be driven around a Formula One circuit by a professional motor racing driver during a Formula One race weekend.
But make no mistake – this isn’t a leisurely pootle around the tarmac, especially because I’m doing it at Monza. “It’s a challenging track because it’s very high-speed, so you’re running with low downforce and you’re going really fast on the straights,” Bearman adds. “So that makes it really challenging because the car moves around so much.”
Later, the Haas Formula One team’s Australian reserve driver Jack Doohan puts the fear of God into me when he warns me that it’s a track “with lots of straights and hard corners, and with that comes carnage”, while Williams driver Alex Albon offers more reassuring words. “You’ll feel the speed, but it’s different to a circuit like Monaco where you’re just constantly pushed against the door.” Small mercies and all that.
Moments before I arrive at the circuit’s Pirelli Hot Laps motorhome, outside of which are parked several of the world’s most expensive supercars (one of which I’ll be a passenger in), I suddenly panic about whether my choice of skirt is a poor one, but a Pirelli employee assures me I’ll be just fine. If anything, I feel underdressed compared to fellow Hot Lap passengers who are dressed for a day of schmoozing in the luxurious Paddock Club with A-listers like Gordon Ramsay and Jannik Sinner (both of whom I spot trackside). In previous years, celebrities who’ve done Hot Laps include Beyonce, Ed Sheeran and Colin Farrell.
Next up is the safety briefing, during which we’re told which parts of the track are the fastest and where we’ll feel the most G-forces. We’re also told that, in the event of an accident, we should stay put, placing our trust in the marshals dotted around the track. I try to forget about Max Verstappen’s horrendous crash at the previous Grand Prix in Zandvoort in the Netherlands and say a silent prayer that if there’s any type of incident it’s minor – like when Sir Lewis Hamilton ran over a groundhog during the Canadian Grand Prix. Not that it was minor for the groundhog, mind.
A word of warning for those doing a Hot Lap. Don’t even think about booking a pre-lap blow-dry because you’ll be wearing a helmet, although I’d recommend an extra spritz of fixing spray if you’ve gone full glam on the makeup, because by the time I arrive trackside, I’m a sweaty, helmeted mess. Okay, I was never going to lose the 5kg in body weight Hamilton once sweated out during the notoriously steamy Singapore GP, but I wasn’t far off.
Moments later, the supercars roar into the pit lane. In my case, my chariot is a rather lovely McLaren 720S, complete with gullwing doors. I notice Formula One great Juan Pablo Montoya waiting in line; it turns out he’s doing a Hot Lap after mine. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he doesn’t look nervous and I ask him for a photo in an effort to distract myself from the fear of throwing up on a professional racing driver.
In reality, it’s all rather civilised. My driver pulls up, someone opens the gullwing doors and I squeeze myself into the car, wondering how on earth those lucky enough to own a McLaren fit their weekly grocery shop into the most compact vehicle I’ve ever sat in.
My driver introduces himself as Guilherme Oliveira, a lovely Portuguese GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup driver and European Le Mans Series regular who doesn’t look old enough to hold a driving licence. Then, someone pushes down the gullwing doors and we’re off.
The first few seconds lull me into a false sense of security. Oliveira asks me if I’ve done a Hot Lap before and I tell him I haven’t, after which point I nervously start whittering away about how I’ve joined my Dad, who races Caterham kit cars, on the odd track day. I’ve barely finished my sentence when Oliveira hits the gas, propelling us out of the pit lane with what feels like the force of a rocket.
It’s the sudden acceleration and deceleration that shocks me the most, and I realise that the sudden braking and close proximity to the walls flashing past in a muddled blur isn’t Oliveira making sure I get the most out of my Hot Lap – this is simply what it feels like to speed around one of the world’s most legendary motorsports circuits. By the time we hit 170km/h, I’ve given up trying to stop my head flopping like a bobblehead doll (motorsports drivers strengthen their necks using devices resembling instruments of torture) or my entire body slamming forward when Oliveira hits the brakes to navigate the high-speed corners. But it’s also an absolute blast – and when we reach the halfway point, I even manage a brief conversation with Oliveira when he points out that what I’m experiencing is nothing compared to the G-forces inflicted on Formula One drivers.
Then, in the blink of an eye, we’re pulling back into the pit lane. Anyone who books a Hot Lap also gets a professional video of the entire experience and as I wrangle myself out of the vehicle, I have another moment of panic that I’ve just flashed the cameraman filming my less-than-grateful exit.
As I hand over my helmet, I notice that one very lucky (or very rich) person has bagged Ferrari Formula One driver Charles Leclerc as their driver and he’s not pulling any punches – instead of pulling slowly out of the pit lane, Leclerc hits the gas immediately, going from zero to what appears to be close to light speed in under a second. When he pulls back in, he’s quickly whisked away by a huddle of Ferrari employees.
My advice? If you ever get the chance to do a Pirelli Hot Lap, take it. Although bear in mind that it’s impossible to guarantee certain drivers, so it’s unlikely your chauffeur will be Sir Lewis Hamilton – if there are unexpected issues with a driver’s Formula One car, for example, or a driver has an on-track incident during practice sessions, they’ll understandably have other priorities.
And let’s face it, if I’d run over a groundhog the day before, I probably wouldn’t want to take someone on a Hot Lap either. What’s more, I’m pretty certain that if Hamilton had been my driver, the risk of a vomit-related incident would be even higher.