This year there were no arguments or discussions about how the Italian Grand Prix was to be run, for right from the start it was decided that it should be on the 5.75-kilometre Monza road circuit, with no question of using the banked track, so that the Grand Prix teams knew that sheer engine power was going to be the main requirement.
Before the race Ferrari were working hard on their new flat-12-cylinder engine and BRM were doing the same with their revised port layout V8 engine, and Alf Francis was reviving the V8 ATS. The Japanese Honda team had given the Austrian Grand Prix a miss in order to get their V-12 engine working properly and Lotus, Cooper and Brabham had to rely on Coventry-Climax to do something about combating the opposition in the power race.
The Monza track being a permanent circuit, in use for racing or testing at all times, BRM and Honda were there well before the official practice started to try out their cars. For the first practice, on Friday afternoon, Ferrari fielded four cars, having three drivers entered for the race, Surtees with the choice of two V8-engined cars, and Bandini and Scarfiotti with the V6-engined cars, the new flat-12 not being quite ready. Because of slight doubts about starting the engines, the V8 cars were carrying an additional 6-volt battery to supplement the main ones.
