F1 champion Sebastian Vettel to make emotional Ferrari return at Monza

Sebastian Vettel

F1 legend Sebastian Vettel to make emotional Ferrari return at Monza

This should be a beautiful moment

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Wednesday 2 September 2026 08:15

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Sebastian Vettel will return to the racetrack in a Ferrari F1 car this weekend, much to the team's (and fans') delight.

The team are celebrating 30 years since Michael Schumacher's first Italian Grand Prix win in a Ferrari, putting on a number of tributes to the great seven-time champion at their home race this coming weekend.

One of those tributes will see Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc race in Schumacher-esque liveries with the iconic red cockpit that the former has previously publicly wished for, and another will involve Vettel getting back behind the wheel.

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The four-time champion will take to the track before Sunday's race in the iconic F2002 which took Schumacher to his fifth world title, still widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 cars of all time, with its screaming V10 engine producing 900bhp as it spun up to 19,000rpm.

Schumacher's long-time Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello will take the F2002 out for a spin first though, heading out before qualifying. The Brazilian has a famous history with the car, having been one of its two drivers along with Schumacher and winning the Italian Grand Prix that year.

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Vettel and Schumacher, from idol to friend

Schumacher was Vettel's idol as a boy, growing up with his fellow German at the very pinnacle of the sport from his first title in 1994 when Vettel was just seven years old.

With the seven-time champion retiring at the end of the 2006 season and Vettel getting his first races in 2007, it appeared as though the driver who later got dubbed 'Baby Schumi' would never get to race against the all-time great who became a mentor, and then a great friend - although the pair frequently drove together for Team Germany in the Race of Champions.

Vettel and Schumacher became great friends.

However, Schumacher's return to racing with Mercedes in 2010 gave the pair, by then good friends, a chance to battle on track for three full seasons before the veteran's second retirement at the end of 2012.

When Vettel announced his move to Ferrari in 2014, he cited the influence of Schumacher's Ferrari stint as an inspiration, saying: "When I was a kid, Michael Schumacher in the red car was my greatest idol and now it's an incredible honour to finally get the chance to drive a Ferrari."

The now-retired German driver later mentored Michael's son Mick in his racing career as he approached and reached F1, in many ways acting as a father figure some years after the infamous skiing accident which left the seven-time champion with a devastating brain injury.

Vettel spoke to German outlet RTL in late 2023 around the tenth anniversary of that accident, saying: "The first thoughts were, of course, at the last joint conversation we had. I told him that I will be a father and what is in store for us."

He added: "I just miss my friend. In recent years, he would have been so important. I would have had so many questions and he could certainly have given so many answers or inspirations."

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F1 Ferrari Sebastian Vettel Michael Schumacher Italian Grand Prix