Ferrari’s tribute to Michael Schumacher at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix will extend well beyond the special SF-26 colours seen on track at Monza. The Ferrari Museum in Maranello is preparing a dedicated exhibition celebrating the German legend’s extraordinary period with the Scuderia, while several of the cars that defined his career will also feature prominently during the race weekend.
The initiative follows Ferrari’s unveiling of a special 2026 Monza livery inspired by Michael Schumacher and the 1996 season. That design recalls his first Italian Grand Prix victory for Ferrari, but the wider celebrations will explore a much larger part of a partnership that transformed both the driver and the team.
Ferrari Museum launches special Michael Schumacher exhibition
From September 4 to September 30, the Victory Hall at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello will host five Formula 1 cars representing the seasons from 2000 to 2004. Those five campaigns produced five consecutive Drivers’ World Championships for Schumacher and marked the dominant peak of his Ferrari career.
The cars will be displayed alongside trophies and a dedicated showcase celebrating his victories with the Scuderia. Visitors will therefore be able to revisit the period in which Schumacher and Ferrari established one of Formula 1’s most successful partnerships, a chapter that remains central to his Ferrari career and championship legacy.
Another Schumacher-related exhibit will be housed in the Technological Evolution Hall, where an F430 bearing his signature will be displayed. During the Italian Grand Prix weekend, the museum will also broadcast qualifying and the race, while visitors will receive special cover artwork created to commemorate the Monza celebrations.
Why Michael Schumacher remains so important to Ferrari
Schumacher’s influence at Maranello went far beyond his results. His meticulous working methods, close cooperation with mechanics and engineers and particular attention to physical preparation helped shape the culture surrounding Ferrari’s Formula 1 programme during his years with the team.
He remains the most successful Formula 1 driver in Ferrari history, but the importance of his era cannot be reduced to statistics alone. His arrival in 1996 began a journey that ultimately led to five consecutive Drivers’ Championships between 2000 and 2004 and helped establish the Scuderia as the dominant force of that period.
Monza played an important role throughout that story. Schumacher won the Italian Grand Prix five times with Ferrari, triumphing in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2006 in front of the enormous home support traditionally gathered around the circuit. The first of those victories provides the inspiration for Ferrari’s 2026 tribute livery.
Ferrari F310, F2002 and 248 F1 form part of Monza tribute
Three cars from different stages of Schumacher’s Ferrari career will also become focal points of the Italian Grand Prix celebrations. The 1996 Ferrari F310 represents the beginning of the German’s journey in red and the season in which he claimed his first Monza victory for the Scuderia.
At the opposite end of his original Ferrari racing career is the 2006 248 F1, the car associated with his final campaign for the team. Schumacher won at Monza again that year, making the model another fitting part of a celebration built around his connection with the Italian Grand Prix.
The third machine is arguably one of the most significant cars of the entire Schumacher era: the Ferrari F2002. During the 2002 season, Michael Schumacher secured the Drivers’ Championship at the French Grand Prix in July with six races still remaining, while Ferrari sealed the Constructors’ Championship in Hungary. The team finished the season with 15 victories from 17 Grands Prix.
Rubens Barrichello and Sebastian Vettel to drive the Ferrari F2002
The F2002 will not simply remain on static display. On Saturday at Monza, Rubens Barrichello is scheduled to drive the car. The Brazilian was Schumacher’s Ferrari team-mate throughout the run of five consecutive Drivers’ titles from 2000 to 2004 and played a major role in one of the most successful periods in the Scuderia’s history.
Sebastian Vettel will also take the same F2002 onto the circuit for a commemorative lap before the Grand Prix. The four-time Formula 1 world champion, another German driver with a significant Ferrari history of his own, will participate as part of the weekend’s wider celebration of Schumacher’s legacy. More details about the appearances of both former Ferrari drivers can be found in our report on Sebastian Vettel and Rubens Barrichello driving Schumacher’s F2002 at Monza.
A dedicated area will also recognise Vettel, further connecting different generations of Ferrari’s Formula 1 history during a weekend centred on one of the team’s most influential champions.
Ferrari turns 2026 Italian GP into wider Schumacher celebration
The combination of the museum exhibition, historic Formula 1 cars and special SF-26 livery makes the 2026 Italian Grand Prix tribute considerably broader than a simple visual reference on the current car. Ferrari is bringing together important machines from both the beginning and peak of Schumacher’s Maranello career while also involving two prominent former drivers who shared important connections with him and the team.
For supporters attending Monza or visiting Maranello, the celebrations provide several opportunities to revisit the era in which Schumacher became synonymous with Ferrari. The events will form part of a particularly significant 2026 Italian Grand Prix weekend for the Scuderia, with the team using its home race to honour a driver whose impact remains deeply embedded in its Formula 1 identity.
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