Ferrari will race a special Michael Schumacher-inspired SF-26 at Monza this weekend, celebrating 30 years since the seven-time World Champion began his remarkable decade with the Scuderia.
Ferrari has unveiled a special Michael Schumacher-inspired livery for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, turning its home race at Monza into a major celebration of one of the most successful partnerships in Formula 1 history.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will race the SF-26 in a one-off design inspired by Schumacher’s first Ferrari, the F310 from 1996, as the Scuderia marks 30 years since the German joined the team.
It is more than a simple colour change. Ferrari has drawn directly on visual details from Schumacher’s early years in red, while special racewear, historic cars and demonstration runs will extend the tribute across the Monza weekend.
The SF-26 goes back to 1996
The most obvious reference is the colour treatment.
Ferrari’s SF-26 retains its unmistakable red base but introduces white across the wings together with black detailing, recalling the appearance of the F310 that Schumacher drove during his first season at Maranello.
There are more subtle touches too. Gold detailing on the BBS wheel rims references the magnesium components used three decades ago, while Schumacher-related branding and the seven-star motif associated with his helmet have been incorporated into the design.
The treatment deliberately avoids trying to turn a modern 2026 Formula 1 car into a replica of the F310. Instead, Ferrari has taken recognisable elements from the 1996 machine and applied them to the very different proportions and aerodynamics of the current-generation SF-26.
Ferrari’s official Monza programme describes the theme as a celebration of Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari anniversary, directly linking the 2026 weekend with his first season at the Scuderia.
Why Schumacher’s first Monza victory mattered
Schumacher arrived at Ferrari from Benetton for the 1996 season already a double World Champion, but the team he joined was not yet the dominant force that would define Formula 1 at the beginning of the following decade.
His victory at Monza that September therefore became particularly significant. As Reuters notes in its independent report on Ferrari’s tribute, the anniversary gives the team a natural reason to connect its 2026 campaign with one of the defining chapters of its modern history.
Over the following decade, Schumacher would win five consecutive Drivers’ Championships with Ferrari from 2000 to 2004, while the team secured six successive Constructors’ Championships during its extraordinary run at the front.
Schumacher himself eventually won at Monza five times for Ferrari — in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2006 — a record highlighted by Formula 1’s official coverage of the livery reveal.
Hamilton and Leclerc join the tribute
The celebration extends beyond the cars.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will wear bespoke racewear carrying Schumacher-inspired details, including his logo and seven stars representing his seven World Championships.
There is an added significance to Hamilton participating in the tribute. Hamilton matched Schumacher’s record of seven Drivers’ Championships in 2020 and is now racing for the same team with which Schumacher won five of his titles.
Ferrari brings Schumacher’s history back to Monza
Ferrari is not limiting the anniversary to the current SF-26.
Three cars representing different stages of Schumacher’s Ferrari career are also set to appear over the weekend: the F310 from 1996, the hugely successful F2002 and the 248 F1 from 2006, his final season with the team.
The F2002 will go one step further than static display duties. Schumacher’s former Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello is scheduled to drive it on Saturday, before four-time World Champion and long-time Schumacher admirer Sebastian Vettel takes the wheel on Sunday.
Together, the three cars effectively tell the story of Schumacher’s Ferrari career: the difficult beginning in 1996, the extraordinary dominance of the early 2000s and the conclusion of his first Formula 1 career in 2006.
Ferrari also has something to fight for in 2026
The tribute will inevitably dominate Ferrari’s presentation at Monza, but the current team cannot afford to treat the weekend purely as a celebration.
As we examined in our 2026 Italian Grand Prix preview, championship leader Kimi Antonelli is facing a significant power-unit-related grid penalty at his home event, potentially creating an opportunity for Ferrari, McLaren and the other front-running teams.
That comes against a wider competitive backdrop we have already been following in our analysis of the Mercedes and McLaren power balance before Monza.
Leclerc already understands exactly what a Ferrari victory at Monza means, having won there in both 2019 and 2024. Hamilton has an equally formidable record at the circuit with five previous victories, although all came before his move to Ferrari.
A red victory this weekend while carrying Schumacher-inspired colours would therefore create another remarkable chapter in the team’s Monza history.
Tech Torque Verdict
Ferrari could easily have treated Schumacher’s anniversary as little more than a marketing exercise, but the scale of its Monza programme gives the tribute considerably more substance.
The F310-inspired SF-26 connects the current car directly with the beginning of Schumacher’s Ferrari career, while bringing the F310, F2002 and 248 F1 together provides a tangible reminder of just how dramatically the team changed during his decade at Maranello.
Having Barrichello and Vettel drive the F2002 should be one of the most evocative moments of the entire Italian Grand Prix weekend.
The only thing Ferrari could add to make the tribute more memorable would be a victory on Sunday.
And with Antonelli’s weekend already complicated by his expected grid penalty, both Hamilton and Leclerc may have a genuine opportunity to try.
