In this article we take you through the F1 news of Thursday 3 September 2026 so you are up to speed again. Monza dominates the agenda a day before the Italian Grand Prix weekend even starts, from engine upgrades and heat warnings to a reshuffled Red Bull line-up. Off track, Alpine’s ambitions and Aston Martin’s admissions are a reminder that words and results don’t always match.
Colapinto Talks Big, Alpine’s Form Says Otherwise
Franco Colapinto has extended his Alpine deal through 2027 and set out bold ambitions for the team, talking about a top five finish. Alpine sit sixth of eleven constructors this season, and Colapinto himself is twelfth in the drivers’ standings, so the gap between rhetoric and reality is wide. Job security clearly breeds confidence, but Alpine will need form, not just faith, to make good on it.
Verstappen Sits Out FP1, Hadjar Sidelined Again
Red Bull has confirmed a reshuffled Monza line-up, with Max Verstappen sitting out FP1 for Ayumu Iwasa’s rookie outing while Isack Hadjar stays sidelined again with his wrist injury, meaning Liam Lawson takes the senior seat for a second successive weekend. Verstappen’s absence is a formality, ticking a mandatory box rather than signalling any trouble. Hadjar’s is not: two races missed in a row raises the question of when, not if, Red Bull needs a longer-term answer.
Gasly’s Alpine Comes Back Clean
The FIA has cleared Pierre Gasly’s Alpine after a routine post-race inspection at Zandvoort found nothing out of order. It is a mundane outcome dressed up as news, proof that the sport’s spot checks are exactly as random as advertised. Nobody at Enstone will mind a clean bill of health landing the same week as bigger headlines.
Colapinto and the FIA President Talk It Out
Franco Colapinto has confirmed talks with FIA president Ben Sulayem over his Dutch Grand Prix penalty, and the tone is remarkably calm for a driver who still feels hard done by. The meeting happened by chance in Argentina, tied to the push to revive the Argentine Grand Prix, not as a formal appeal. Colapinto seems to have decided that lobbying for a home race matters more than relitigating a stewards’ call from weeks ago.
Monza Gets Its Heat Warning
The FIA has declared the Italian Grand Prix a heat hazard race, with temperatures forecast to hit 35C over the weekend. That makes it the second such declaration this season, after Austria, and leaves drivers free to wear cooling vests rather than obliged to on a low-downforce circuit that offers nowhere to hide from the heat.
Haas Picks a Side on Engines
Haas has handed its only upgraded Ferrari engine to Oliver Bearman rather than Esteban Ocon for Monza. Ocon keeps the new aero package but old power, and Haas’s pecking order, with Bearman well clear of him in the standings, is now impossible to disguise.
Honda Admits Its Upgrade Has a Downside
Honda has admitted its upgraded engine carries a driveability weakness that both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll complained about after Zandvoort. The performance gain is real on the dyno, but an engine partner admitting a raw discomfort in the cockpit right before Monza is an awkward look for Aston Martin’s ambitions.
Aston Martin Shuts the Door on 2026
Aston Martin has confirmed development on its 2026 car is finished, with only weight loss left before Baku. That is an unusually early surrender with eleven races still to run, and it confirms where the real priority now sits: 2027.
Verstappen Reveals How Rough Zandvoort Really Was
Max Verstappen has confirmed he was still fighting an ‘awful’ illness before Monza that quietly worsened a rough Dutch Grand Prix weekend. It reframes his home-race crash and seventh-place qualifying as a fight against more than just a tricky, damp track.
Hamilton’s Dream Car Steals Monza’s Media Day
Lewis Hamilton turned up to Monza media day in his own restored Ferrari F40, a childhood dream car parked at Maranello since he joined the team. It did more for his standing with the tifosi on Thursday than anything he has managed on track this season.
Brembo Warns 2027 Brake Work Is Already Outdated
Brembo has admitted the FIA’s delay on the 2027 power ratio has left months of brake development work redundant. Carbon components have long lead times, and a supplier every team depends on building blind while the rules wobble is not a reassuring sign for 2027’s readiness.
Free practice opens the Pirelli Gran Premio d’Italia on Friday, with qualifying and Sunday’s race still to come on the F1 calendar.
