MONZA READY FOR A CRUCIAL ITALIAN GRAND PRIX WEEKEND
Formula 1 has arrived at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, one of the most important and emotional weekends of the season. Thousands of fans will fill the famous grandstands, but this year the race could offer much more than the usual atmosphere. The 2026 rules are expected to change the way the race develops, with energy management becoming one of the key factors.
In previous seasons, overtaking at Monza became harder as following another car was less effective and the smaller rear wings reduced the benefit of DRS. This time, however, the main problem will be energy. Drivers will not be able to recover all the available energy under braking, meaning they will have to carefully decide where and when to use it around the lap.
This could make Monza very different from what fans have seen in recent years. There simply will not be enough energy to use maximum power everywhere, which should create more opportunities for drivers to attack. This is also one of the reasons Mercedes decided to give Andrea Kimi Antonelli a fresh Power Unit at his home race.
The decision is mainly about the championship. Mercedes wants to use a new engine at a track where overtaking should be easier, rather than waiting for a later race such as Austin. By making the change now, the team can also reduce the pressure of having to introduce a fresh unit during the final part of the season, when every point could be critical.
Monza will also be an important test for McLaren. The team comes to Italy after two straight victories, although those wins came at circuits where high downforce was important. Monza is almost the opposite, with long straights and very low-downforce setups. It will therefore give McLaren a much clearer idea of how much its car has improved in areas that have not been tested as strongly at the previous races.
Ferrari will have even more attention on it this weekend. The Italian Grand Prix is always special for the team, but 2026 adds several extra reasons to watch closely. Ferrari will race in front of its home fans with a special livery celebrating 30 years since Michael Schumacher took his first victory with the Scuderia.
More importantly, Ferrari is expected to introduce an updated Power Unit at Monza. The goal is to find the extra performance needed to challenge Mercedes more strongly during the second half of the championship. At a circuit where engine power is so important, the update could provide a very useful indication of Ferrari’s progress.
What does Pirelli bring to Monza
Pirelli has also chosen an aggressive tyre range for the weekend. The C3, C4 and C5 compounds will be used as Hard, Medium and Soft. Despite looking aggressive, the choice makes sense for Monza. The track requires some of the lowest downforce settings of the season, while much of the lap is spent at full throttle and the tyres do not face the same level of lateral stress seen at high-downforce circuits.
The softer tyres should help drivers get into their ideal working window more easily, without necessarily causing extreme degradation. Teams are therefore expected to target a one-stop strategy, although high temperatures could make tyre management more difficult and force some teams to change their plans.
The track map
Energy deployment will also be closely linked to the track’s Straight Mode system. There are four Straight Mode zones around the lap: the main straight, the short section between Curva Grande and the Roggia chicane, the long run from Lesmo 2 towards Ascari, and the section from Ascari back towards the Parabolica.
Overtake Mode is detected on the final part of the lap, with activation at the exit of the Parabolica. A driver close enough to the car ahead can therefore combine the available boost with the low-drag rear wing and the slipstream on the run towards Turn 1. Straight Mode, meanwhile, is available to all cars inside the relevant zones.
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