Formula 1 heads to Monza this weekend for the 13th round of the 2026 season, with the Italian Grand Prix set to shape the championship battle and provide answers across the field.
Championship leader and home hero Kimi Antonelli faces a major challenge after an engine change on his Mercedes triggered a grid penalty. The 19-year-old leads team-mate George Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by 59 points, while McLaren’s in-form reigning world champion Lando Norris has closed the gap after winning the last two grands prix. Norris remains 82 points behind Antonelli.
With one of the leading teams also bringing an upgraded engine to the Temple of Speed, and several midfield teams introducing new parts, there are five key storylines to follow at the Italian Grand Prix.
The pressure on home hero Kimi Antonelli
The 2026 Formula 1 season has been difficult for drivers racing in front of their home crowds. Max Verstappen crashed out on the opening lap at Zandvoort, Charles Leclerc failed to finish at Monaco and Oscar Piastri did not even make the grid in Australia. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were exceptions after claiming a podium at Silverstone, but home advantage has rarely delivered the expected results this year.
Antonelli will hope to reverse that trend in Italy. He struggled to ninth place at Monza in 2025 and crashed during FP1 for Mercedes in 2024. This time, however, he has one of the strongest cars on the grid and the confidence that comes with a commanding championship lead.
His weekend has already become more difficult. The engine change means Antonelli will start from the pit lane regardless of his qualifying performance. Monza’s layout should give him opportunities to move through the field, provided his Mercedes W17 retains the performance advantage it has shown at other circuits this season.
Antonelli should realistically be able to pass most of the midfield and fight for a top-five finish. A podium is also possible if circumstances work in his favour, but the main objective will be damage limitation and protecting his championship advantage.
Owen Bellwood
Ferrari goes all-in for home glory at Monza
Monza is always highlighted in red on Ferrari’s calendar, although the team has enjoyed limited success at its home race in recent years. Ferrari has won only two of the last 15 Italian Grands Prix, with Charles Leclerc taking victory in 2019 and 2024.
Ferrari is therefore preparing an extensive effort for this weekend as it attempts to keep its drivers’ and constructors’ championship hopes alive while delivering a major home spectacle.
The team will draw on its history with Michael Schumacher, who won five times at Monza for Ferrari. Schumacher will be commemorated through a special SF-26 livery that Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc will race this weekend.
Ferrari has also confirmed an updated power unit under the development opportunities allowed by the ADUO system. The revision includes a redesigned combustion chamber and turbocharger, with the changes expected to halve the team’s current deficit to Mercedes’ power unit.
Aerodynamic updates and track-specific components are also expected, including a new version of Ferrari’s ‘Macarena’ rear wing. With Antonelli compromised by his pit-lane start and McLaren potentially struggling to reproduce the pace that delivered victories in Budapest and Zandvoort, the conditions may be favourable for Ferrari at home.
Federico Faturos
Drivers could complain about the rules again
The Italian Grand Prix presents a demanding technical challenge. Monza requires very low drag and a high proportion of full-throttle running, while its layout can drain the cars’ batteries quickly. As a result, teams are likely to adopt significantly different energy-management strategies, particularly during the early stages of the race.
The circuit also contains four Straight Mode zones, including the entire main straight. Monza’s long straights have traditionally exposed differences in drag efficiency, but they will also reveal which cars can shed the most drag when their front and rear wings are defeated. Drag levels, power-unit efficiency and deployment strategy should be the key performance differentiators.
The racing is likely to reflect those characteristics. Regardless of how the FIA adjusts recharge levels, drivers will not be able to defend every corner.
That could bring back the so-called ‘yo-yo racing’ that drivers and many fans dislike – although it may not concern the commercial rights holder, whose view is ‘overtaking is overtaking’. Got that? Good.
Stuart Codling
Monza will test how real McLaren’s progress is
McLaren began the 2026 season slowly and was firmly Formula 1’s third-best team behind Mercedes and Ferrari. However, the Woking-based outfit has made progress through a series of upgrades, helping Lando Norris win in Hungary and the Netherlands.
Those victories will mean less in the championship battle if McLaren cannot maintain its competitiveness at Monza. The team was expected to perform well at the high-downforce Hungaroring and Zandvoort, where the MCL40’s strengths in medium-speed corners were particularly valuable.
Monza provides a very different test. The circuit demands low downforce and is dominated by long straights and chicanes, making energy management and power-unit performance crucial.
That was an area where McLaren trailed Mercedes’ factory team at the start of the season. Although the British team has made progress, including receiving long-awaited simulation tools at Spa, Monza should show how significant those gains have been.
For McLaren to be considered a genuine rival to the Silver Arrows, it must reproduce its Budapest and Zandvoort form at a fundamentally different circuit. Until then, team principal Andrea Stella remains cautious about the remainder of the 2026 season.
“If we can confirm our improvements in Monza, then I would say that the answer to your question is yes, we can look with some optimism at the remainder of the season,” he said.
Ed Hardy
Can Haas stop its slide down the order?
With Formula 1 still in Europe and almost a dozen races remaining, teams continue to introduce upgrades across the grid. Haas will bring a raft of new parts for the VF-26 at Monza as it attempts to return to the front of the midfield.
The American team made a strong start to the season and scored points in the first three races, but its results have since declined. Haas has not scored since the Monaco Grand Prix in June and will bring a “comprehensive” package of updates to Monza in an effort to change its fortunes.
“We’re bringing a comprehensive list of updates to Monza, which are focused on bringing us back to our competitors in the midfield,” said Esteban Ocon. “Budapest and Zandvoort were positive on my side in that I felt comfortable in the car, and we really got the most out of the package we had. So, I’d like to carry on that trend and extract the most out of these updates from day one and get back in the fight for points.”
Developing the car throughout a season has historically been a weakness for Haas. The team has often started strongly before losing performance, although that pattern changed in 2025 when it continued to bring upgrades and finished eighth at the end of the previous regulation cycle.
Owen Bellwood
