Lightning McQueen rolled into Monza as an official Formula 1 track car
Lightning McQueen made a life size appearance at Monza for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix and even took an honorary lap before the race.
Monza's Formula 1 weekend included a guest nobody could confuse with the usual paddock crowd. Lightning McQueen, in life size form, showed up at the Italian Grand Prix, shared the grid with the field and turned a movie anniversary into a very real racing cameo.
The Pixar star appeared during the 2026 Gran Premio d'Italia at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, held from September 4 to 6, as part of the 20th anniversary of the original Cars, which was released in 2006. For the weekend, McQueen was brought in by his Cars 2 rival Francesco Bernoulli and named an official track vehicle.
He did not just park for photos. McQueen was given an updated look tied to Disney's collaboration with Formula 1, joined the grid alongside Formula 1's 22 drivers and then completed an honorary lap under his own power before Sunday's 53 lap Italian Grand Prix.
The joke extended beyond one car. Formula 1's official FIA Safety Car also got a Cars themed redesign for Monza. The Mercedes AMG GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+ wore Lightning McQueen's eyes across the windshield along with event specific graphics.
The response online was large too. According to ESPN, the Instagram post announcing McQueen's paddock appearance collected more than 1.8 million likes.
Why the paddock was into it
Part of the appeal was timing. Several current Formula 1 drivers grew up with Cars, including championship leader Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson. Lawson has often called Lightning McQueen his childhood hero, and he posed with the character while holding a real life Piston Cup. Antonelli got his own themed surprise, an Italian flavored one in the form of an approximately two meter long model of Francesco Bernoulli.
Cars creative director Jay Ward traveled to Monza to oversee the appearance. He described McQueen to ESPN as "a character who happens to be a car, not the other way around," and said children recognize him first as a personality and a racer, not simply as a red vehicle. Putting him on one of Formula 1's most famous circuits helped sell that idea.
The Monza activation falls under Fuel the Magic, Disney's ongoing partnership with Formula 1. That deal was recently extended through 2028, and this marks the first time Cars has joined the wider program. Select Formula 1 and Disney merchandise is also available online through Disney Store and the Formula 1 official online store.
