The Temple of Speed awaits. The latest stop on Formula 1®’s European summer tour brings Audi Revolut F1® Team to the sport’s most-visited venue: Autodromo Nazionale Monza. It has been a fruitful summer so far, with Nico and Gabi sharing points finishes in all of the last four races – including three top eight results. Saturdays have provided a solid baseline for Sunday’s races, with three Q3 appearances in the last three race weekends. Now, a new challenge awaits. Steeped in over a century of racing history, Monza has appeared on the Formula 1® calendar in every season except one. Just outside of Milan, the so-called Temple of Speed is the fastest circuit visited all year.

Last year’s Italian Grand Prix weekend set new records for both the fastest-ever qualifying lap in a Formula 1® car and the fastest-ever Grand Prix. And while still flying in 2026, Monza’s challenge changes slightly this year.

For decades, Monza has been the ultimate test of straight-line speed. Its long straights followed by its tight chicanes means that there’s potential for close racing at almost every turn. This will be the first Italian Grand Prix under F1®’s new-for-2026 regulations, where energy deployment takes on greater importance.

The Italian Grand Prix weekend is likely to be the biggest test yet for this year’s power units. With little respite from its high speed nature, there are relatively few opportunities to recover energy over the course of a lap at Monza. With energy at a premium, choosing where to deploy it – and where to save it – will be crucial not only to securing a good grid position, but also in wheel-to-wheel battles on Sunday afternoon.

The Temple Of Speed’s challenge this year is therefore as much about energy management as it is about outright straight-line performance. But make no mistake: this is the Temple of Speed. And speed is always important. In 2026, how you manage the energy that allows you to reach that top speed could be just as important as actually reaching it.

Thanks to its unrivalled speeds, Monza is a track which all drivers enjoy racing around – and it’s certainly true for Nico and Gabi, who each hold fond memories of the track. Of his 14 top five finishes to date in Formula 1, two of Nico’s have been recorded at Monza, with fifth place finishes in both 2013 and 2019.

Meanwhile, Gabi claimed the Formula 3 title here back in 2023. His title victory came in somewhat unusual circumstances: he clinched the honours in the pit lane on Friday, as a result of his two title rivals failing to take pole position and therefore being unable to beat Gabi’s points total in the remainder of the championship’s final weekend.