For the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Ferrari is celebrating one of the most significant chapters in its history. This year marks 30 years since Michael Schumacher's first season at Maranello. The German driver joined the team in 1996 and, over the following decade, played a central role in a period that transformed the team and ushered in an extraordinary cycle of success.

Michael's time at Ferrari was about much more than just wins and titles: his relentless pursuit of perfection, attention to detail, discipline and ability to be a true team player helped create a culture that became one of the defining characteristics of the Scuderia. Thirty years later, that culture remains part of the way Ferrari approaches competition today. Monza is therefore the ideal place to celebrate this legacy, not just by looking back at what was achieved, but by recognising values that remain part of Ferrari today.

Schumacher arrived at Maranello as a two-time World Champion and immediately began leaving an indelible impression that would become inseparable from Ferrari's modern history. His first win in red came that same year in Spain, followed by two more in Belgium and at Monza, where he gave the Scuderia its first Italian Grand Prix victory since 1988. It was the beginning of an extraordinary relationship between Michael, the team and the tifosi. During his eleven seasons with the team, Schumacher helped reestablish Ferrari at the pinnacle of Formula 1 with six consecutive Constructors' titles from 1999 to 2004 and five Drivers' World Championships in a row, from 2000 to 2004. At the heart of those results was an approach based on continuous improvement, preparation, teamwork and the determination to achieve the best possible result at all times. These are precisely the principles at the heart of Ferrari's tribute to Michael at Monza this year, which goes by the name of "Sunday Rituals". The name evokes something that goes beyond racing itself: the rituals, emotions and shared passion that have brought Ferrari and its tifosi together on Grand Prix Sundays for generations. Few places represent that bond more powerfully than Monza, and few drivers have embodied it as Michael did.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton's SF-26s will therefore race at Monza in a special livery inspired by the Ferrari F310 with which Michael began his adventure in 1996. The car will be predominantly red, with some white on the wings, together with black. The wheels, from BBS as was the case back then, have a hint of gold, recalling the original colour of the magnesium rims used that season. The car will also feature the logo used by Michael, made up of the letters M and S forming the silhouette of a single-seater cockpit. On the nose, there will be a graphic reference taken from the German champion's helmet design, which in the final seasons featured seven stars on a red background. The tribute will extend beyond the cars: Charles and Lewis will have special racewear - as will the whole team on Sunday - with their shoes, overalls and gloves will be specially designed for the occasion. The two drivers will also have special helmets, helping to create a visual link between the Ferrari of 1996 and today's Scuderia.

Three cars from different years in Michael's Ferrari career will also be on display at Monza. Naturally, the 1996 F310, symbolising the beginning of that journey, alongside the 2006 248 F1, with which Michael brought his time racing in red to a close, as well as the Ferrari F2002, one of the most iconic cars of the Schumacher era. In what was one of the most dominant seasons ever in Formula 1, Michael clinched the Drivers' title in France in July, with six races to spare, while Ferrari clinched the Constructors' World Championship in Hungary, with 15 wins from 17 races. This Saturday afternoon Rubens Barrichello, Michael's team-mate throughout the five consecutive Drivers' Championship-winning seasons from 2000 to 2004, will be at the wheel of the F2002. The Brazilian has a special connection with this car and with Monza, having driven one to win the 2002 Italian Grand Prix. On Sunday, before the start of the Grand Prix, four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel will take to the track in the same car for a celebratory lap honouring Schumacher's legacy. For "Seb", who grew up idolising Michael before going on to become a Ferrari driver himself, as well as for all the fans in the grandstands, it will be a particularly emotional moment.

The F2002 will be run by Ferrari's F1 Clienti department and, at Monza, will use an Advanced Sustainable Fuel developed specifically by Shell, drawing on the know-how acquired this season to create the fuel being used in 2026, the most sustainable fuel ever used in Formula 1. It is a combination that brings together different generations of Ferrari's history while looking towards the future, allowing one of the Scuderia's most iconic cars to return to the track using advanced and sustainable technology.

Schumacher is the most successful Formula 1 driver in Ferrari's history, but the importance of his decade at Maranello goes beyond mere statistics. His contribution was also reflected in the way he worked: the hours spent with engineers, his physical preparation, his attention to detail and his determination to involve the entire team in the pursuit of performance. It is this aspect of his legacy - the method, commitment, teamwork and constant desire to improve - that Ferrari wants to celebrate at Monza, where Michael won five times (1996, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2006), taking to the podium surrounded by a sea of red from the tifosi who, since the Seventies, have marked the end of every race with a track invasion. That sea of red remains one of the most powerful expressions of the relationship between Ferrari and its tifosi. At Monza, celebrating Michael means celebrating that shared history too - and the passion that continues to unite generations around the Scuderia.

The Schumacher celebrations will extend beyond the circuit. Charles and Lewis will be in Milan from tomorrow afternoon, Wednesday 2 September, to take part in various activities linked to Ferrari and its partners. There will be an event at the Flagship Store at 2 via Giovanni Berchet, which for Monza week will feature a special display dedicated to Michael and the Scuderia, with themed windows and a selection of exclusive items. The drivers will meet customers and tifosi as the atmosphere of the Monza weekend is brought into the heart of the city. This year, a Schumacher capsule collection will also be available, another way for Ferrari to celebrate the bond between the German champion and the Scuderia.

The Ferrari Museum in Maranello will also pay tribute to Michael. From 4 to 30 September, the Sala delle Vittorie (Victory Hall) will feature the five cars from the 2000 to 2004 seasons, the years in which Schumacher won five consecutive Drivers' titles, accompanied by the trophies and a display dedicated to his victories with Ferrari. Meanwhile, the Sala dell'Evoluzione Tecnologica (Technology Evolution Hall) will feature an F430 bearing Michael's signature, showcasing his involvement in the development of Ferrari road cars. During the Grand Prix weekend, the Museum will show Saturday's qualifying session and Sunday's race live, while visitors will receive a special cover art commemorating the Monza celebrations. Thirty years after Michael Schumacher first arrived in Maranello, his legacy continues to be part of Ferrari: in its people, in its culture of continuous improvement and in the passion shared with tifosi around the world. At Monza, history returns to the track not to remember the past, but to inspire what comes next.