As reported by F1-Fansite, Rubens Barrichello was the first to take the V10-powered F2002 out on Saturday afternoon, and Sebastian Vettel followed with his own run shortly before the start of Sunday’s race. The demonstrations formed part of a tribute that ran through the whole weekend, marking 30 years since Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1996 and 20 years since his final victory for the team at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix. Elements of his history with the Scuderia were also woven into the presentation of Ferrari’s current Formula 1 operation.
For Barrichello, climbing back into the F2002 carried special meaning. The Brazilian was Schumacher’s teammate at Ferrari from 2000 to 2005, and he won the 2002 Italian Grand Prix in this very model, finishing ahead of Schumacher to complete a Ferrari one-two. Monza has been a lucky track for him throughout his career. He took the top step of the podium there three times: in 2002 and 2004 with Ferrari, and again in 2009 driving for Brawn GP. His demonstration also had a family dimension. The helmet he wore included elements of the design used by his son, Fernando Barrichello, who competed at Monza the same weekend in the FIA Formula 3 support race. Fernando had a special helmet of his own, blending his signature green, yellow and blue with the red, white and blue pattern his father made famous. Named a CryptoProcessing brand ambassador in 2025, Fernando is carrying the family name into international single-seater racing and drove for AIX Racing in the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Championship.
The car itself is among the most successful Ferrari ever built for Formula 1. Introduced during the 2002 season, the F2002 helped the team win both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships. That year Schumacher finished on the podium in all 17 Grands Prix, a record no driver has matched since, and clinched his third consecutive title with Ferrari while several races were still left on the calendar. The season was part of a remarkable run in which he won five straight Drivers’ Championships with the team from 2000 to 2004. Schumacher also won the Italian Grand Prix for Ferrari five times, in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2006, which explains why his name still resonates so strongly with the Tifosi. When the F2002 came back on track, its naturally aspirated V10 also gave spectators a sound very different from the one produced by today’s Formula 1 cars.
Vettel’s turn behind the wheel added a different kind of connection. The four-time world champion grew up idolizing his fellow German and later came to know Schumacher as a friend. Vettel spent six seasons with Ferrari, from 2015 to 2020, and described driving the F2002 as an emotional experience. According to Formula 1, he saw the run as a chance to remember both the racer and the man he got to know during his own career. His appearance put two generations of German Ferrari drivers side by side in the memory of the fans, at a circuit where both men celebrated memorable moments.
Taken together, the weekend’s demonstrations linked several chapters of racing history around a single car. A former teammate returned to a machine from Ferrari’s most dominant era, a champion who once looked up to Schumacher took his place in the cockpit, and a new generation of the Barrichello family raced on the same circuit. More than two decades after the F2002 last competed at Monza, the sight and sound of the Ferrari V10 gave the Tifosi a vivid reminder of one of the defining periods in the sport.
