The Italian Grand Prix weekend turned into a family affair for the Barrichellos and a celebration of Michael Schumacher’s legacy for Ferrari. At the center of it all was the F2002, the car that carried Schumacher through one of the most dominant seasons the sport has seen.
According to F1-Fansite, Ferrari scheduled two demonstration runs of the V10-powered car at Monza: Rubens Barrichello drove it on Saturday afternoon, and Sebastian Vettel took over shortly before Sunday’s race. The runs were the highlight of a tribute that lasted the whole weekend and even shaped how Ferrari presented its present-day Formula 1 team.
One of the most personal details of the weekend could be seen on Barrichello’s helmet. The design he wore for the demonstration included elements borrowed from the helmet of his son, Fernando Barrichello, who was competing at the same circuit in the Formula 3 support series. Fernando returned the gesture with a special helmet of his own, mixing his usual green, yellow and blue with the red, white and blue scheme that fans have associated with his father for decades. Fernando became a CryptoProcessing brand ambassador in 2025 and raced for AIX Racing in the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Championship, continuing the family’s presence in international single-seater competition. Seeing father and son on track at Monza in the same weekend gave the Schumacher celebration a link to motorsport’s next generation.
For Rubens, the F2002 was far from just another historic car. He spent six seasons alongside Schumacher at Ferrari, from 2000 to 2005, and in 2002 he drove this model to victory in the Italian Grand Prix, beating his teammate to the line as Ferrari finished first and second. Monza went on to reward him twice more, with another Ferrari win in 2004 and a third success with Brawn GP in 2009. The car he returned to also represents the peak of that Ferrari era. After its debut in 2002, the F2002 delivered both championships to the team, and Schumacher reached the podium in each of the season’s 17 Grands Prix, an achievement still unmatched in Formula 1. He wrapped up his third consecutive title with Ferrari with races to spare, part of a streak of five Drivers’ Championships in a row between 2000 and 2004. When its naturally aspirated V10 fired up again at Monza, the sound reminded spectators how different Formula 1 used to be compared with the machinery on the grid today.
Vettel’s run on Sunday brought a different perspective. Growing up in Germany, the future four-time world champion saw Schumacher as his hero, and years later the two became friends. Vettel, who wore Ferrari red himself from 2015 to 2020, said driving his idol’s car was an emotional experience, and Formula 1 noted that he used the moment to remember Schumacher both as a competitor and as a friend. His presence connected two eras of German drivers at Ferrari in front of the Tifosi, at a venue that holds special memories for each of them.
The timing of the tribute carried its own symbolism. The weekend marked 30 years since Schumacher signed with Ferrari in 1996 and 20 years since his final win for the team, at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix. Monza itself played a large part in that story, as Schumacher won the Italian Grand Prix for Ferrari five times, in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2006. More than two decades after the F2002 last raced there, a former teammate, a champion who once idolized him and a young driver from a racing family were all tied to the same car, offering fans a reminder of an era that still shapes how Formula 1 remembers its greatest periods.