Ferrari honors Schumacher with special livery at Monza as Antonelli faces grid penalty

Ferrari will be celebrating the legacy of Michael Schumacher this weekend at its home race, with a special livery dedicated to the seven-time Formula 1 world champion.

This year marks 30 years since Schumacher joined the Scuderia, and 20 years since his final F1 victory in the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix.

With Schumacher at the wheel, Ferrari rose to the top of F1 after years spent without championships.

Ferrari's constructors' championship win in 1999 ended a 16-year wait in the teams' competition, while Schumacher's drivers' championship triumph in 2000 made him the first Ferrari race to become world champion since Jody Scheckter in 1979.

Schumacher won five of his seven drivers' championships with Ferrari, from 2000-2004.

This weekend at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, a race Schumacher won five times with Ferrari, the Scuderia has a one-off livery which pays tribute to the F1 champion.

Among the features are seven stars on the nose of the car, representing Schumacher's world titles, and drivers Lewis Hamilton — the sport's other seven-time world champion — and Charles Leclerc will wear racing suits that also feature the seven stars and Schumacher's logo.

F1 championship leader to take grid penalty at Monza

Kimi Antonelli has celebrated his 20th birthday as the Formula 1 drivers' championship leader, and heads into his home grand prix with a significant 59-point advantage over his two nearest rivals.

But the youngest-ever leader of the F1 championship heads into this weekend's race at Monza knowing he has work to do to be near the front of the grid.

Mercedes announced during the previous race weekend in the Netherlands that Antonelli will take an engine penalty this weekend.

F1 teams have an allocation of power unit components they can use in a season. When a driver is fitted with a power unit component that exceeds the allocation, they are handed a penalty at the first event that new part is used.

Mercedes has had multiple power unit issues this year, with Antonelli failing to finish in Barcelona and teammate George Russell suffering issues in Canada and Belgium.

Despite the Italian Grand Prix being Antonelli's home race, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said now was the right time to do it for the championship leader.

"Our calculations say that that's the best track to take it," Wolff said.

"Obviously, algorithms don't take their nationality into consideration. We're here to fight for a championship and not get the most PR. So yeah, that's what we're going to do."

Monza, known as the Temple of Speed, is expected to be a strong track for Mercedes, which is likely why it is taking the penalty now.

With long straights, there should be plenty of opportunities for Antonelli to pass with his impressive Mercedes power unit.

Monza has been the scene of impressive drives through the field in recent years.

Pierre Gasly won from 10th on the grid driving for AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls). Max Verstappen won in 2022 after taking a five-place grid penalty, while Lewis Hamilton charged from the last row on the grid to place fifth.

Last year, Isack Hadjar started in the pit lane for Racing Bulls and was able to finish 10th.