Monza Prepares for Round 13 of the 2026 Formula 1 Season

Monza readies itself again. The Temple of Speed, Ferrari’s backyard, hosts Round 13 of the 2026 Formula 1 season from 4–6 September, and it arrives with the championship picture tilting sharply in one direction and the form book in another.

Lando Norris is the man arriving with the wind at his back. Fresh from a chaotic, breathless farewell to the Dutch Grand Prix, the McLaren driver stitched together his second consecutive victory in the first race after the summer break, surviving a race that swung wildly before finally breaking his way. It was the kind of win that doesn’t just add points. It adds authority.

McLaren moved quickly to lock that in. Norris has now signed a new deal that ties him to the team until the end of the 2030 season, a long-term commitment that signals McLaren’s belief that their present and future both sit in the cockpit of that papaya car. He comes to Monza not just as the form driver, but as the long-term pillar of a project that suddenly looks very serious.

Yet the championship lead belongs elsewhere.

Kimi Antonelli, driving for Mercedes, turned the Dutch Grand Prix into another quiet step towards something far louder at the end of the year. He finished second behind Norris, but that was enough to stretch his advantage in the drivers’ standings to 59 points over team-mate George Russell. In a season that has often felt like a duel within the same garage, Antonelli’s consistency is starting to bite.

Russell, who completed the podium in third, now finds himself staring at a gap that demands more than damage limitation. He needs wins, not just solid Sundays. Monza, with its long straights, heavy braking zones and slipstream battles, offers opportunity, but also risk. One mistake in the pack, one mistimed move into Turn 1, and a title challenge can unravel in an instant.

Ferrari, meanwhile, come home to their tifosi with questions of their own. Lewis Hamilton joined the front-running fight in the Netherlands and stood alongside the Mercedes pair on the podium, a reminder that the Scuderia can still muscle into the sharp end when the conditions and strategy align. At Monza, expectation is louder than the engines. Every scarlet car is judged not only on performance, but on emotion.

The stage, then, is set for a clash of narratives. Norris, the man in form with a fresh contract in his pocket. Antonelli, the championship leader edging closer to a commanding position. Russell, chasing a shrinking target. Hamilton and Ferrari, returning to the cathedral where second place can feel like defeat.