Wednesday brought important news for Formula 1 on the eve of the Italian GP. Isack Hadjar was officially ruled out of the Monza round due to a wrist injury, Ferrari confirmed a new specification of its power unit, and Kimi Antonelli will have to start his home race from the back of the grid.
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Hadjar still feels pain after the injury suffered during the summer break and, for this reason, Red Bull decided not to risk his return. Liam Lawson will continue alongside Max Verstappen in the main team, while Yuki Tsunoda will remain in Racing Bulls with Arvid Lindblad. The team stated that it is closely monitoring the Frenchman’s recovery and will only authorize his return when it is safe to do so.
Ferrari arrives in Monza with a relevant technical novelty. Frederic Vasseur confirmed that the SF-26 will use the latest specification allowed by the ADUO system for the power unit. The team principal highlighted that the goal is to seek marginal gains and, at the same time, execute a weekend without errors in front of the tifosi, in a round that will also pay tribute to Michael Schumacher.
At Mercedes, Antonelli already knows he will face an even greater challenge at home. The championship leader will receive a fifth power unit and will start from the back of the grid, a decision made because Monza offers more recovery possibilities. The team, however, will not yet use the update authorized by ADUO, which is expected to arrive only at a round in the United States in October.
The situation also shakes up the title fight. Antonelli has 242 points, while Lando Norris is 83 behind after winning in Hungary and the Netherlands. Jolyon Palmer considers the gap still very large and also questions whether McLaren will be able to repeat in Monza the performance shown on the last two tracks, precisely because the characteristics of the Italian circuit are different.
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McLaren itself acknowledges that the two recent wins do not mean that the MCL40 has solved its main weakness. Andrea Stella explained that the car still struggles in low-speed corners, although Norris managed to exploit the package very well at Hungaroring and Zandvoort. In an extremely tight grid, any loss of performance can have a direct impact on positions.
At Red Bull, Verstappen also spoke again about the team’s structural problems. The four-time world champion pointed to the old wind tunnel as an important limitation for development and places hope in the new facility, expected to come into operation in early 2027. Before that, he will still give his car to Ayumu Iwasa in Monza’s TL1.
The Italian GP will be held from Friday, September 4, to Sunday, September 6, in Monza, as the 13th round of the 2026 season.
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