This week, the Formula 1 championship moves to southern Europe: the thirteenth round of the current season — the Italian Grand Prix — will take place at the legendary Autodromo Nazionale in Monza. The first practice sessions of the race weekend will be held here on Friday, September 4, UNN writes.
What makes the Monza round special for Formula 1 drivers
The 2026 Italian Grand Prix (officially, the Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d'Italia 2026) is a Formula 1 World Championship motor race that will take place on September 6, 2026. The race will be held at the Monza Circuit in Monza, Italy. It will be the thirteenth round of the World Championship, the 96th Italian Grand Prix in history, and the 77th to be held as part of the Formula 1 World Championship.
Monza is the "Temple of Speed": the fastest lap of the season is recorded here, and the cars run at full power for 80% of the lap. The atmosphere here is unparalleled: the "tifosi" turn the royal park red in honor of Ferrari, regardless of where the team stands in the championship standings.
Built in 1922 in the royal park near Milan, the Monza circuit is the oldest and has hosted the Italian Grand Prix in every World Championship season except one. Its neglected, banked corners still rise among the trees as a monument to a more dangerous era. The "tifosi" — Ferrari's fanatical supporters — define the atmosphere of this event: when Ferrari wins at Monza, the crowd storms the track beneath the podium in a sea of red flags — a spectacle unmatched in world sport.
The key corners on the track are Curva di Lesmo, Curva Parabolica, and Variante Ascari, which is named after the Italian driver Alberto Ascari, who died here and remains the last local Formula 1 champion.
Today, 53 laps at Monza, each measuring 5.793 km, make up a total race distance of 306.72 km.
The circuit has 11 corners and four straight-line zones where drivers will be able to activate their wings.
The Italian Grand Prix weekend will be dedicated to German racing driver and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher in honor of his thirty years of racing for Ferrari.
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The star driver's former teammate, Rubens Barrichello, will complete several laps in the F2002, the very car with which Schumacher won his Italian Grand Prix and a number of other titles.
Another German driver and four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel, will also drive the same racing car. In total, three cars symbolizing three stages of Schumacher's career at Ferrari will be presented: the 1996 F310, the 2006 F1 248, and the F2002.
In addition, the Ferrari cars of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, the SF-26s, will be adorned with a special livery inspired by the F310, in which Michael began his career in 1996.
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Practice, qualifying, and race schedule
The 2026 Italian Grand Prix weekend will begin on Friday, September 4, with the first two free practice sessions for the Formula 1 cars, followed by the third free practice session and qualifying on Saturday, September 5. The Grand Prix itself will take place on Sunday, September 6, at 15:00 local time (16:00 Kyiv time).
Championship standings ahead of the Italian Grand Prix
Following the Dutch Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli leads the 2026 drivers' championship with 242 points, 59 points ahead of his Mercedes teammate George Russell.
Antonelli has six wins this season. The Italian driver is aiming to win his first world drivers' championship title. Lando Norris leads the Constructors' Championship with 425 points and eight race wins, 87 points ahead of Ferrari.
There are 11 rounds remaining (11 Grands Prix and 1 sprint), and 283 points are still available in the drivers' championship, while 489 remain available in the constructors' championship.
The Italian Grand Prix race and qualifying can be watched on the Setanta Sports OTT platform, as well as on the Setanta Sports Ukraine + television channel.
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