Press release no. 39/2022 Formula 1, Monza: the Frecce Tricolori will kick off the Italian Grand Prix The National Aerobatic Team will fly over the starting grid of the Formula 1 Pirelli Italian Grand Prix. On Sunday 11 September, it will be renewed on the’Monza National Autodrome the now well-established partnership between the world of Formula 1 and the Italian Air Force. On the occasion of Italian Grand Prix in fact, at Monza, 9 MB-339 PAN aircraft will fly over the race starting grid, trailing the longest Tricolour in the world. The passage of the National Aerobatic Team will take place to the final notes of the Inno di Mameli, which for the occasion will be sung by Maestro Andrea Bocelli accompanied by the Italian Air Force Band. The flypast over the Autodromo Nazionale Monza is now a traditional event that is greatly appreciated by motorsport and aviation enthusiasts. Speed, innovation, technology, engines and teamwork have always united the Flight Departments of the Italian Air Force and the Formula 1 teams. Indeed, ever since the establishment of the Armed Force in 1923, the men and women in blue have worked daily in the service of the country in the spirit of innovation and modernity. This year the flypast will also be an opportunity to celebrate the centenary of the “Temple of Speed”, built in Monza precisely in 1922, at the dawn of Italian motoring history. 100 years, an important milestone that the Italian Air Force is also preparing to reach. In 2023, in fact, the Armed Force will celebrate its first century of history, which will see it as a protagonist in numerous initiatives throughout the national territory. The 313th Aerobatic Training Group “Frecce Tricolori” The 313th Aerobatic Training Group, this being the official designation of the Unit, is a Flight Group of the Italian Air Force which, since 1st March 1961, the date of its establishment at Rivolto Air Base (Udine), has had the task of representing the capabilities of the entire Armed Force. The mission assigned to the Frecce Tricolori is in fact to represent, in the eyes of Italy and the world, through their spectacular aerobatics, the founding values of the Italian Air Force: professionalism, team spirit, constant commitment and the pursuit of improvement. The Frecce Tricolori, heirs to a long and glorious aerobatic tradition of the past, are today a Unit made up of around 100 military personnel, who have the grateful task of representing through their work the more than 40,000 men and women of the Italian Air Force. The Frecce Tricolori are engaged during these summer months in their 62nd aerobatic season. Following a two-year enforced hiatus due to the pandemic, the National Aerobatic Team has resumed carrying its Tricolour across Italy and the world, with around 30 displays along Italian coastlines and abroad (in Portugal, the United Kingdom and Austria).