MONZA, Italy, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Ferrari will have a special livery and team kit at Monza this weekend to commemorate Michael Schumacher's first Italian Grand Prix win with the Formula One team and his decade at Maranello from 1996 to 2006.
This year marks 30 years since the seven-times world champion, then with two titles to his name, joined Ferrari from Benetton.
The German's arrival transformed the team and started a golden period for Ferrari, with Schumacher going on to win five championships in a row and the team six successive constructors' titles.
Schumacher, now 57, has not been seen in public since he suffered a serious brain injury in an accident while skiing in the French Alps in December 2013.
Ferrari said the SF-26 cars of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, also a seven-times champion, would have a livery inspired by Schumacher's first Ferrari 310 -- predominantly red with some white on the wings and black as well as seven stars and the German's logo using the letters M and S.
There will also be three cars from Schumacher's Ferrari career on display -- the F310, the 248 from 2006 and the F2002 from one of the most dominant seasons ever.
The 2002 car will be driven by Schumacher's former teammate Rubens Barrichello on Saturday and four-times champion Sebastian Vettel on Sunday.
Schumacher's 1996 win at Monza was Ferrari's first at home since 1988 and they return this weekend with a good chance of another victory with Leclerc and Hamilton having each won once this season and the team second in the standings.
Ferrari last won at Monza in 2024 with Leclerc, who also won in 2019. Hamilton, who joined Ferrari last year, is a five-time winner at Monza with McLaren and Mercedes.
Italian Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader for Mercedes, is set to start at the back of the grid due to penalties triggered by power unit changes.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ed Osmond)
