Sebastian Vettel will pull out of the Monza pit lane in Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari F2002 on Sunday, taking a lap of honour in Ferrari’s most dominant Formula 1 car in the minutes before the Italian Grand Prix. The 53-lap race is scheduled for 3pm local time.
Rubens Barrichello has the same car the day before. The Brazilian will drive the F2002 on Saturday afternoon, after qualifying, on the circuit where he beat Schumacher to victory in the same chassis in 2002.
Vettel back in a Ferrari for the first time since 2020
The demonstrations are the centrepiece of Ferrari’s weekend programme marking 30 years since Schumacher joined the Scuderia in 1996. Ferrari will also display his 1996 debut car, the F310, and his 2006 farewell Ferrari, the 248 F1, alongside the F2002.
Vettel drove for Ferrari from 2015 to 2020, winning 14 races and finishing on the podium 55 times, but never delivered the championship the team had signed him to win. He has not been in a Ferrari since he left for Aston Martin.
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Ferrari framed the tribute in a statement.
“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.”
The car Barrichello knows best
The F2002 won every grand prix of the 2002 season bar four, carrying Schumacher to his fifth world title and Ferrari to a constructors’ championship. The V10 revs to 19,000 rpm and produces around 900 bhp.
Barrichello was in the other one all year. At Monza in 2002 he crossed the line first with Schumacher second, a Ferrari one-two on Italian soil that still ranks among the team’s most celebrated home results. Bringing him back to Monza to drive the same chassis, more than two decades later, is the point.
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The car will not run on its original 2002 fuel. Ferrari has confirmed that the F2002 will use an “advanced sustainable fuel developed specifically by Shell”, drawing on the technology the team has developed for the 2026 grand prix engine formula.
Schumacher’s markings on the SF-26
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will race the SF-26 in a special livery inspired by the F310 that Schumacher drove in his first Ferrari season. Motorsport.com describes the modifications as a deeper red across the engine cover, retro-font driver numbers with Schumacher’s signature placed between them, gold accents on the BBS wheel rims, and the white stars from Schumacher’s helmet on the nose of the car. Team personnel will wear commemorative kit for the weekend.
Barrichello takes the F2002 out on Saturday after qualifying. Vettel follows on Sunday, on the grid, before the race gets underway at 3pm local time.
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