The 13th race of the Formula One season, the Italian Grand Prix, takes place at Monza, known as the "Temple of Speed".
The Italian circuit has just 11 corners, with the cars spending around 76 per cent of the lap at full throttle. “It's always exciting in Monza. It's the fastest race we get to go to,” Lewis Hamilton said this week.
Last year, Max Verstappen set the fastest qualifying lap in F1 history before winning the race at an average speed of 250.706kph, setting another record.
The new generation of cars is predicted to be even quicker, potentially finding as much as two seconds a lap compared with 2025. Ferrari arrive with a new engine; McLaren’s upgrades have brought them back into the championship battle, while Mercedes will hope their Italian driver can break the dreaded home curse.
It won’t be easy. Here are the biggest talking points heading into the race.
Can Antonelli overcome home-race curse?
Kimi Antonelli comes to Monza as the first Italian in 73 years to lead the F1 championship. He has won six races and holds a 59-point advantage over his teammate, George Russell, and Ferrari’s Hamilton.
The 20-year-old could become Italy's first world champion since Alberto Ascari, but it seems unlikely considering he will start from the back of the grid, a decision Mercedes couldn’t delay.
Mercedes have decided to install an entirely new power unit after reliability problems left Antonelli at the limit of his component allocation.
Why this circuit? The long straights make overtaking relatively easy and Mercedes expect their power unit to be particularly potent, which means a recovery drive is possible with a strong engine. The belief is that Antonelli could claw his way back to the top.
Verstappen won in 2022 despite a five-place grid penalty, while Hamilton climbed from the back to finish fifth that same year. By Mercedes' calculations, Monza is the least damaging place to introduce a new power unit and absorb the penalty.
Yet it remains to be seen whether Antonelli will fall victim to the dreaded home race this season.
Oscar Piastri failed even to start in Australia; Charles Leclerc retired in Monaco and Fernando Alonso suffered a DNF in Spain. Not even the mighty Verstappen could escape it, crashing out on the opening lap of the final Dutch GP at Zandvoort.
It’s up to Antonelli to defy the curse. No Italian has won at Monza since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. Doing it from the back of the grid would require something extraordinary, but then again, Antonelli has grown accustomed to surpassing expectations.
Ferrari's latest upgrade
For Ferrari, Monza is the most important race of the season. A home grand prix that invites fervent devotion from the Tifosi, it is traditionally the race that Maranello often chooses to introduce a significant upgrade, and this year is no different.
Ferrari have confirmed a second upgraded power-unit specification for both drivers at Monza, having introduced the first in Austria. They hope to exploit a circuit where outright power and aerodynamic efficiency are paramount.
Hamilton believes they are in better shape than they were 12 months ago. “Last year, we didn't have the car to fight," said the Briton. "This year, we have the car to fight.”
At Zandvoort, Ferrari introduced a revised floor and diffuser and showed considerably more race pace than their final grid positions suggested.
Their fourth- and fifth-place finishes felt like yet another opportunity squandered. Hamilton was irritated with how the race unfolded, making his feelings clear over the radio after losing time behind Leclerc while running on fresher tyres. Ferrari had the speed to fight for the podium, but the team didn’t execute accordingly.
“I’m here to win and I really believe that this team can win. To win championships you have to pick up every point,” Hamilton reiterated after the Dutch GP.
The team now seeks redemption at Monza with a new engine specification and a low-downforce aerodynamic package designed specifically for the circuit’s long straights and high speeds.
And the crowd will be out in force, loudly making their presence felt.At a packed event in Milan’s Palazzo Reale this week,, Hamilton brought his mother, Carmen, out to meet the Tifosi, where she was greeted with an enormous ovation.
Now Ferrari must convert all that fervour into performance at mainland Europe’s oldest circuits, and they will attempt to do so in a special SF-26 livery inspired by Michael Schumacher’s first Italian GP victory for the tea 30 years agoo.
McLaren purring again
McLaren have won the past two races in Hungary and at Zandvoort, with Lando Norris taking pole and victory at both. Once again, their ability to improve the car during the season has played a central role in their success.
Over the past few years, McLaren have become particularly good at making upgrades work. New parts have tended to deliver what the team expected almost immediately, in contrast to their rivals.
The pattern is starting to emerge again. A new floor was introduced in Hungary before more aerodynamic changes followed at Zandvoort, including revisions to the rear wing, diffuser and engine cover.
With the team back to collecting victories, it comes as no surprise that Norris has opted to extend his deal until at least the end of 2030. He told Martin Brundle it was “probably the easiest contract I've had to sign”.
Monza will offer another opportunity to cut the deficit to Mercedes, but the circuit will provide certain challenges the car must overcome.
Hungary and Zandvoort rewarded cornering performance, but Monza is about reducing drag and finding speed on the straights. If McLaren can make their latest gains work here too, can anyone stop them gunning for the championship again?
Norris wins Dutch GP - in pictures
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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri celebrates after winning the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort Circuit on August 31, 2025. EPA -
Left to right: Second placed Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, race winner Oscar Piastri, third placed Isack Hadjar of RB and McLaren CFO Laura Bowden on the podium at Zandvoort Circuit. EPA -
RB driver Isack Hadjar celebrates after sealing his first ever podium finish. AP -
McLaren's Oscar Piastri takes the chequered flag to win the Dutch Grand Prix. Reuters -
Red Bull's Max Verstappen ahead of Isack Hadjar of RB as the Dutch driver secured second place in his home GP. Getty Images -
RB's French driver Isack Hadjar in his way to a third-place finish. EPA -
Mercedes driver George Russell, ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, on his way to a fourth-place finish. Getty Images -
McLaren's Oscar Piastri leads going into the first corner at the start of the race ahead of teammate Lando Norris and Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Reuters
Red Bull hope for more happy memories
Verstappen's home race ended against the barriers before he had even completed a lap. It was a miserable conclusion to a weekend in which the RB22 had already looked short of pace. However, 12 months ago at Monza, Verstappen won the fastest race F1 has ever seen, reminding the team of happier times.
He is resisting any assumption that history will repeat itself. “We're heading to Monza to regroup; it's difficult to predict how competitive we'll be,” Verstappen said, while acknowledging that Red Bull have generally performed well there and describing the circuit as one of his favourites.
Alongside him will be Liam Lawson again. Drafted in at short notice when Isack Hadjar injured his wrist during the summer break, Lawson returned to a Red Bull seat for the first time since his brief and bruising spell in 2025. He finished P7 at Zandvoort.
Hadjar had hoped to Italy, but but remains sidelined, giving Lawson another opportunity to impress while Yuki Tsunoda will once again deputise at Racing Bulls.
In other news, Red Bull have hired long-serving Aston Martin engineer Tom McCullough to join as head of racing in 2027. McCullough will assume the broader racing responsibilities currently carried out by Gianpiero Lambiase, who is due to join McLaren in 2028. However, Tom Hart appears to be the man the team have lined up to become Verstappen's race engineer.
