Ferrari has unveiled images of its special livery for Monza, inspired by Michael Schumacher’s F310 in 1996.
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Ferrari will fully play the nostalgia card this weekend at Monza. To celebrate the thirty years since Michael Schumacher’s arrival at Maranello, the Scuderia has unveiled a special livery directly inspired by the F310 driven by the German in 1996.
The images reveal an SF-26 noticeably different from its usual livery. Red obviously remains dominant, but white makes a return on the wings, combined with touches of black. The BBS rims adopt a golden hue reminiscent of the magnesium wheels used by Ferrari thirty years ago.
The references to Schumacher do not stop there. His graphic signature, formed by the letters “M” and “S” outlining the silhouette of a single-seater cockpit, appears on the car, while the nose features an element from the helmet worn by the seven-time world champion during the last years of his career: seven stars on a red background.
The memory of the first Monza in red
The choice of 1996 is obviously not accidental. Schumacher had joined Ferrari that winter already with two world titles under his belt, but a Scuderia that had not won the drivers’ championship since Jody Scheckter in 1979.
After a first victory in the rain at Barcelona, then a win at Spa, the German triumphed at Monza, giving Ferrari its first home victory since Gerhard Berger in 1988. This success especially helped seal a special relationship between Schumacher and the tifosi.
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The rest is history: six consecutive constructors’ titles between 1999 and 2004 and five consecutive drivers’ crowns for Schumacher from 2000 to 2004.
Barrichello and Vettel behind the wheel of the F2002
Ferrari will not be content with just a commemorative livery. Three single-seaters from the Schumacher era will be displayed at Monza: the 1996 F310, the 2006 248 F1, and especially the F2002, one of the most dominant Ferraris in history.
Rubens Barrichello will take the wheel on Saturday, twenty-four years after winning the Italian Grand Prix with this car. On Sunday, before the race, it will be Sebastian Vettel’s turn to do a demonstration lap.
A highly symbolic choice: before becoming a four-time world champion and then a Ferrari driver, Vettel had grown up idolizing Schumacher. At Monza, for a few minutes, images of the present should thus blend with those of one of the most glorious periods of the Scuderia.
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