European Formula One Double-Header: First Stop Monza

There are home races in Formula 1, and then there is Ferrari at Monza where the tifosi go even crazier than usual and the finish has seen more than one track invasions, sometimes before the rest of the field have finished their lap.

This weekend the Snus Vikings Nicotine Pouch Formula 1 Championship arrives at the Temple of Speed for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, with Ferrari and ZYN still leading both of our championship tables but suddenly facing much greater pressure from a resurgent McLaren.

Lando Norris has won the last two Grands Prix in succession, taking victory in Hungary immediately before the summer break and then repeating the feat at Zandvoort. His Dutch GP victory moved him ahead of Charles Leclerc into second place in our Drivers' Championship and reduced Lewis Hamilton's advantage to only 24 points.

Now Ferrari return home and they are bringing an upgraded engine with them.

Where the Nicotine Pouch Championship Stands

Zandvoort transformed what had been developing into a relatively comfortable Ferrari advantage. Hamilton remains our championship leader, but Norris' back-to-back victories mean there are now three drivers separated by only 28 points.

Nicotine Pouch Drivers' Championship

The Teams' Championship remains more comfortable for Ferrari, although that advantage has also been heading in the wrong direction.

Nicotine Pouch Teams' Championship

Ferrari/ZYN therefore arrive in Italy with a 75-point lead over McLaren/VELO.

That's still substantial but it was 90 points after Belgium and 87 after Hungary and McLaren are really chipping away at it.

Welcome to the Temple of Speed

If Ferrari could choose somewhere to stop that trend, Monza would surely be near the top of the list.

The circuit just outside Milan is Formula 1 history in physical form. Monza has staged more World Championship Grands Prix than any other circuit, missing from the calendar only in 1980, and Ferrari have won there a record 20 times.

Its nickname, the Temple of Speed, isn't marketing hyperbole either, something that any Gran Turismo afficionado will tell you; Monza is a fantastic track (except the opening chicane, I can't get that opening chicane right)

Monza remains Formula 1's fastest circuit. The cars spend around 80% of a lap at full throttle as they blast along its enormous straights before braking heavily for the chicanes, negotiating the Lesmos and eventually launching through the famous final corner.

That makes this weekend an intriguing test for the completely different power units introduced for 2026. Energy deployment, harvesting and outright engine performance will be subjected to an examination unlike almost anywhere else on the calendar and that makes Ferrari's latest development particularly interesting.

Ferrari Bring an Engine Upgrade to Monza

Ferrari have confirmed that both Hamilton and Leclerc will use an upgraded power unit this weekend.

It is the manufacturer's second engine development of the season under the FIA's Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system. Ferrari introduced its first update at the Austrian Grand Prix and will now deploy its second specification at the circuit where power matters perhaps more than anywhere else.

Earlier in the season Ferrari were assessed as being more than four per cent behind benchmark manufacturer Red Bull on internal-combustion-engine performance, making them eligible for additional development opportunities under the new regulations.

Team principal Frédéric Vasseur describes the latest update as another step forward rather than some enormous transformation, but at Monza even relatively small improvements in power and efficiency could prove valuable.

There is a potential longer-term consequence, however as the new units will be the fourth engines of the season for Hamilton and Leclerc, taking both Ferrari drivers to the permitted limit before further changes begin creating grid penalties.

For now, though, Ferrari are clearly prepared to use everything available to them for their biggest home weekend of the year.

Hamilton Has a Championship Lead to Defend

For Lewis Hamilton, the Italian Grand Prix carries an additional significance. He arrived at the summer break with what looked like a healthy advantage in our championship. Two Norris victories later, that cushion has been dramatically reduced.

The arithmetic is now straightforward: Norris is just 24 points behind Hamilton, meaning another major swing this weekend could put the championship lead itself under serious pressure.

Leclerc is only another four points behind Norris and that means Ferrari simultaneously need to defend against the rapidly improving McLaren while managing an increasingly close battle between their own two drivers.

Can Ferrari Put the Zandvoort Tension Behind Them?

The Dutch Grand Prix wasn't entirely harmonious inside Ferrari.

Hamilton was frustrated by the timing of Ferrari's strategy calls after catching Leclerc on significantly fresher tyres, while Leclerc ignored multiple instructions to allow his team-mate through. There was then another tense moment on the final lap as both Ferraris fought behind George Russell.

Neither driver appears interested in prolonging the disagreement, but Monza is hardly the place Ferrari would want another internal dispute.

There will be an enormous amount of attention on the team before a wheel has even turned and although the Tifosi won't care which Ferrari wins, they will care if Ferrari somehow prevent themselves from winning.

Norris Arrives as the Man to Beat

The inconvenient reality for Ferrari is that the most in-form driver in Formula 1 currently wears papaya.

Norris has won from pole in both Hungary and the Netherlands, transforming his position in our championship in the process by leaping from 103 to 159 points in the space of a few weeks

Formula 1 itself describes McLaren as "resurgent", while Norris' performances have even begun generating discussion about whether he could drag himself back into contention for the real World Championship despite the sizeable advantage currently held by Kimi Antonelli. 

In the Snus Vikings championship, he doesn't need anything like such a dramatic comeback as he is already right there.

For McLaren/VELO, the bigger challenge is getting Oscar Piastri into the fight alongside him. Ferrari continue to benefit enormously from having Hamilton and Leclerc regularly scoring together. Norris can keep winning races, but overturning a 75-point Teams' Championship deficit will be much easier if Piastri starts taking substantial points away from both Ferraris too.

Antonelli Faces a Very Different Home Grand Prix

Ferrari won't be the only Italian attraction this weekend as Kimi Antonelli arrives at Monza as the leader of the actual Formula 1 Drivers' Championship, holding a remarkable 59-point advantage in only his second F1 season.

However, Mercedes have confirmed Antonelli will take a complete new power unit at Monza and therefore serve a grid penalty. The team believes the Italian circuit offers one of the better opportunities to recover from such a penalty because of its characteristics.

It creates an unusual situation for the home crowd; Italy has the championship-leading Italian driver it has waited decades to see, yet Antonelli will be trying to fight through the field while Ferrari attempts to win in front of the Tifosi.

Ferrari Celebrate Michael Schumacher

There will be another significant Ferrari storyline running throughout the weekend.

The Scuderia are marking 30 years since Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari and 20 years since his final Monza victory for the team.

Hamilton and Leclerc will wear special race suits incorporating Schumacher's logo and the seven stars associated with his seven World Championships, while Ferrari have also revealed a special one-off appearance for the SF-26 inspired by Schumacher's first Ferrari season in 1996.

Schumacher's relationship with Ferrari and Monza is particularly significant. He won his first Italian Grand Prix for the team in 1996 and ultimately claimed five World Championships in Ferrari red between 2000 and 2004.

For Hamilton and Leclerc, there could hardly be a better weekend to add another Ferrari victory to Monza's history.

Hot, Fast and Probably Dry

Unlike Zandvoort, where North Sea weather can turn a race upside down with little warning, the early forecast suggests Monza should provide a much more conventional challenge.

Temperatures are expected to reach around 33°C across the weekend, with no significant rain currently forecast.

That heat could make tyre management particularly important as Monza's low-downforce configurations reduce aerodynamic grip, while heavy braking and repeated acceleration place their own demands on the cars. Drivers also need enough straight-line speed to attack and defend without compromising stability through the circuit's handful of crucial corners.

There is no Sprint this weekend either, so teams return to the traditional format of three practice sessions, qualifying on Saturday and the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Can Bottas and 77 Finally Score?

Some things haven't changed: Valtteri Bottas and Cadillac/77 still have a zero beside their names but Monza could at least offer opportunities.

Its long straights can create slipstream battles, the first chicane is notorious for opening-lap incidents, and safety cars or unusual strategies can quickly bring midfield cars into contention.

At some point though, Cadillac need to turn opportunities into points and although they are not expecting to be at the pointy end of the championship fight where Ferrari and McLaren have now accumulated 601 points between them, Cadillac still have none.

What to Watch at the Italian Grand Prix

There are plenty of reasons to pay attention this weekend, but for our championship five questions stand out:

• Can Hamilton stop Norris eating further into his 24-point lead?
• Will Ferrari's new engine upgrade deliver an immediate advantage at Monza?
• Can Leclerc retake second place from Norris?
• Can Piastri help McLaren/VELO make another serious reduction in Ferrari/ZYN's 75-point lead?
• Will Bottas finally put Cadillac/77 on the scoreboard?

And above all:

Can Ferrari win at home?

Sunday Could Change the Championship Again

Two races ago, Ferrari and ZYN looked increasingly secure but now there is just enough uncertainty to make things interesting.

Hamilton still leads. Ferrari still have both drivers inside the top three. The Teams' Championship advantage remains sizeable and the Scuderia are introducing an engine upgrade at a circuit where power matters enormously.

But Norris has momentum with two wins in succession and taking huge chunks out of the gap to the title leaders on consecutive weekends so Monza arrives at just the right moment.

Ferrari will have tens of thousands of Tifosi behind them, a special weekend celebrating one of the greatest drivers in their history and new machinery designed to extract more from the SF-26.

If Ferrari and ZYN want to remind McLaren and VELO who controls this championship, there could hardly be a better place to do it.

Next stop: Monza. The Temple of Speed.

And perhaps the most important weekend of Ferrari and ZYN's Nicotine Pouch Championship season so far.