The 2026 Italian Grand Prix at Monza has officially sold out for Sunday, with organisers expecting almost 400,000 spectators across the event as Formula 1’s historic Italian venue looks towards a future extending well beyond 2031. The announcement came during the traditional pre-race presentation in Milan, where the strength of Ferrari, championship leader Kimi Antonelli and ambitious redevelopment plans for the Autodromo Nazionale Monza were all highlighted.
The Automobile Club Milano hosted the presentation of the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, traditionally marking the beginning of the Monza weekend. It provided an opportunity to celebrate several important milestones for the event, starting with the exceptional advance ticket sales that have resulted in a complete Sunday sell-out for the 2026 Italian GP.
The event was attended by Lombardy Region president Attilio Fontana, Automobile Club d’Italia president Geronimo La Russa, Monza mayor Paolo Pilotto, Milan councillor for Sport, Tourism and Youth Policies Martina Riva, Pirelli executive vice-chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera, Automobile Club Milano president Pietro Meda and Autodromo Nazionale Monza president Giuseppe Redaelli. Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and Italian Infrastructure and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini also contributed remotely.
Attention focused not only on the immediate excitement surrounding the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, but also on Monza’s long-term future. Work currently under way at the circuit is intended to strengthen its position on the Formula 1 calendar for many years to come.
2026 Italian GP sold out as Monza expects almost 400,000 fans
Geronimo La Russa, president of the Automobile Club d’Italia, stressed that Monza can already celebrate a major achievement this year, helped by the sporting circumstances surrounding the 2026 Formula 1 season.
“The Italian GP is a wonderful sporting event, but it is also an opportunity to celebrate Italy, its excellence, its passion and the great ability this country has to stage international events every year. It’s a happy moment, the Ferraris are competitive protagonists and then we have the championship leader, Kimi Antonelli. A boy of just 20 years old, Italian, who initially grew up within our sporting federation, within ACI. Then Mercedes believed in him and here we are today, with a young man who is getting us all excited.”
Kimi Antonelli arrives at Monza at the top of the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship standings, adding another major point of interest for the Italian crowd alongside Ferrari’s home appearance with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
La Russa continued: “The demand for this Grand Prix has been incredible, in every possible way. This is news: we’re sold out. There isn’t a single seat available on Sunday. So this year we expect to reach almost 400,000 people, which, when you say it like that, really is a very, very significant number. That also makes the organisational side a little more complicated for us, but it fills us with enormous joy and satisfaction.”
Monza marks Ferrari anniversaries for Ludovico Scarfiotti and Michael Schumacher
The 2026 edition also marks two important anniversaries in Ferrari and Italian Grand Prix history. Sixty years have passed since the last victory by an Italian driver at Monza, when Ludovico Scarfiotti won for Ferrari in 1966. The circuit’s race control facilities are due to be named after Scarfiotti during the afternoon.
This year also marks 30 years since Michael Schumacher’s first Monza victory as a Ferrari driver. The German won the Italian Grand Prix for the Scuderia in 1996, an anniversary Ferrari is celebrating through several initiatives, including a special 2026 Italian GP livery inspired by Michael Schumacher.
The Frecce Tricolori will once again perform at Monza before the start of the Grand Prix, while another new feature for this year’s programme will be a performance by Italian singer Laura Pausini, which was announced in recent days.
Monza wants to secure its Formula 1 race well beyond 2031
While excitement continues to build around the 2026 race, work at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza is also continuing as the circuit seeks to improve its infrastructure and look beyond the three-year Formula 1 agreement announced last July.
La Russa explained that ACI’s long-term management of the venue provides the stability required to invest in its future.
“Until 2044, ACI will be responsible for managing this facility, thanks to great cooperation between the institutions. It provides a form of guarantee that allows us to plan, invest and grow. Monza has to move forward, it has to project itself into the future: we’ll have the new race control, the new hospitality area, the new press room and then the work that will follow so that we can secure the Grand Prix well beyond 2031.”
The strategy reflects a broader effort to modernise one of Formula 1’s most historic venues without losing the character that has made Monza one of the championship’s defining events. The plans to extend Monza’s Formula 1 future beyond 2031 are therefore closely tied to the ongoing investment programme at the circuit.
Matteo Salvini raises prospect of a second Italian F1 race in 2026
Looking further ahead, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini highlighted the resources allocated to Monza before addressing another potentially significant development for Italian motorsport. Italy could have an opportunity to stage a second Grand Prix during the 2026 season, with Imola considered a strong candidate to replace one of the races originally scheduled in the Middle East should geopolitical tensions in the region prevent an event from taking place.
Salvini said: “In last year’s Infrastructure Decree, the Ministry allocated €5 million here for every year until 2032 so that there can be long-term planning. I know that the ACI president is also working to make sure that the Monza Grand Prix, at least this year, might not be the only Italian Grand Prix, but we’ll talk about that after Sunday.”
Any potential change would affect the structure of the remaining 2026 Formula 1 calendar, although Salvini stopped short of announcing any confirmed second Italian race.
Stefano Domenicali celebrates Monza’s growing appeal to younger F1 fans
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali sent a video message to the presentation after being unable to attend in person because of work meetings scheduled in London.
“Talking about the Italian Grand Prix always has a special meaning, because it means talking about an important part of the history of our sport. Monza is one of those places that manages to convey something special every time you return. There is history, but above all there is a passion that continues to renew itself and grow, involving different generations and, something that gives me particular pleasure, more and more young people.”
Stefano Domenicali also praised the organisers for achieving another race-day sell-out.
“For this reason, I want to congratulate everyone on yet another sell-out. It’s a result that rewards the great work that has been done and once again confirms just how strong and special the bond between Monza and Formula 1 is. It’s a relationship built over time and one that continues to look to the future with great enthusiasm.”
Ferrari and championship leader Kimi Antonelli add to Monza excitement
The former Ferrari team principal also highlighted the unusual and exciting position Italian motorsport finds itself in heading into its home Grand Prix, with Kimi Antonelli leading the championship and Ferrari competing near the front.
“This year, we’re also arriving at the Italian Grand Prix at a really special moment for our country. We have Kimi Antonelli leading the championship, he’s giving so many Italians huge emotions, and we have a very competitive Ferrari that is playing a leading role. We really have all the ingredients for an exciting weekend and to see Monza once again express all of its energy.”
The enthusiasm surrounding Ferrari and Kimi Antonelli has helped make the 2026 Italian GP one of the most anticipated editions in recent years. Stefano Domenicali’s confidence that Ferrari and Kimi Antonelli can make Monza particularly special is matched by the extraordinary level of ticket demand and the prospect of almost 400,000 spectators attending the event.
Stefano Domenicali also thanked everyone working behind the scenes to deliver the Grand Prix, from volunteers and marshals to the law enforcement personnel whose contribution is essential to successfully staging an event of such scale.
With Sunday completely sold out, Ferrari competitive, an Italian driver leading the Formula 1 championship and substantial investment continuing at the circuit, Monza enters the 2026 Italian Grand Prix weekend with both its immediate appeal and its long-term ambitions firmly in focus.
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