A grand total of 72 F3 cars were entered for the event. They were split into 3 groups.[1]
Qualifying
The Italian Championship front runners took pole position for Heats 1 and 2. Piercarlo Ghinzani took the pole for the Euroracing Srl team in his March-Toyota 793 for the Heat 1; teammate, Michele Alboreto, headed the grid for Heat 2. Mike Thackwell, from the British F3 series, took the pole for Heat 3 in his works entered as March-Toyota 793.[1]
Heats
Each heat was held over 8 laps of the historic Monza circuit. The victor of Heat 1 was Piercarlo Ghinzani from Guido Cappellotto. Heat 2 went to another Italian, Mauro Baldi, followed by Michele Alboreto. The final heat, Heat 3, saw Mike Thackwell take the chequered flag ahead of Carlo Rossi. The Championship leader, Alain Prost, only finished 13th in Heat 1 and did not progress into the final heat.[1]