The 2011 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on 11 September 2011 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. It was the thirteenth round of the 2011 Formula One season and was also the sixtieth time the Italian Grand Prix had been held at Monza. The 53-lap race was won by Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel, the World Drivers' Championship leader, after he started from pole position. Jenson Button finished in second place for McLaren, and Fernando Alonso completed the podium in third position for Ferrari.
Karun Chandhok drove for Team Lotus in the first free practice session.
Sebastian Vettel took pole position, at a circuit where Red Bull Racing have never had a front row start before, by half a second from Lewis Hamilton.
Pastor Maldonado crashed in Q1 breaking the car's nose, but still managed to set a fast enough time to progress to Q2, eventually qualifying fourteenth.
The Virgin MVR-02 is a Formula One racing car designed by Wirth Research for Marussia Virgin Racing, and used by them during the 2011 Formula One season. Like its predecessor, the Virgin VR-01, the MVR-02 was designed entirely with computational fluid dynamics, with Nick Wirth's design studio doubling their CFD capacity ahead of the 2011 season. The addition of the "M" in the car's chassis designation reflected the team's new owner, Russian sports car manufacturer Marussia Motors. The car was unveiled in London on 7 February 2011, and was driven during the racing season by returning driver Timo Glock and debutant Jérôme d'Ambrosio.
Timo Glock driving the MVR-02 at the 2011 British Grand Prix
d'Ambrosio suffered a catastrophic suspension failure during the first Malaysian Grand Prix practice session.
The MVR-02 scored its best result in a wet Canadian Grand Prix, with d'Ambrosio and Glock in fourteenth and fifteenth, respectively
The livery of the MVR-02 included an advertisement for the film Cars 2 at the British Grand Prix - shown here on d'Ambrosio's car.