Ferrari honours Schumacher's seven titles with special Monza livery for Hamilton and Leclerc

Ferrari has unveiled a one-off livery for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, paying tribute to seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. The SF-26 cars of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will carry Schumacher’s signature on the engine cover and seven stars on the nose — one for each of his world titles.

The most visible change is the removal of the white tone from the engine cover, leaving the car in a deeper, unbroken red. Driver number decals for both Hamilton and Leclerc will also switch to a retro font, while Schumacher’s signature sits between those numbers and title sponsor HP’s logo.

The seven stars on the nose are a direct reference to Schumacher’s helmet design, on which white stars were a trademark feature throughout his career.

Schumacher remains Ferrari’s most successful and most tenured driver. He started 179 races for the Scuderia between 1996 and 2006, claiming five consecutive world championships from 2000 to 2004 under team principal Jean Todt and technical director Ross Brawn. In total, he took 72 wins and 58 pole positions with Ferrari — a record of dominance the team has not since matched.

The 57-year-old German won two of his seven titles with Benetton before joining Ferrari, but it is his Maranello era that defined the sport’s early 2000s landscape and cemented his legacy as the benchmark against which all subsequent champions are measured.

The special livery will make its on-track debut at Monza, one of motorsport’s oldest and most storied circuits, and a venue where Schumacher himself celebrated some of his most significant victories.