Monza GP: PUMA revisits 1996

Monza. The ‘Tempio della Velocità’. No other race weekend means more to the Scuderia. 1996: Michael Schumacher joins Ferrari, wins at Barcelona, wins at Spa, wins here at Monza. It was Ferrari’s first home victory since 1988. 2026: The Schumacher tribute car takes to the track. The SF-26 races at Monza in the red livery of yesteryear, with the number combination ‘3/72’ on the rear wing. Even the race car is changing its livery for the occasion. Mercedes-AMG may well be leading the World Championship by a comfortable margin, but that is secondary in this case. For the Scuderia, what counts above all is victory in front of their own fans.

PUMA is ensuring the team cuts a fine figure with its ‘Monza Limited Edition Collection’. It was unveiled on Tuesday in Milan. PUMA transformed the END. Milan store into a ‘Driver’s Room’ for a day, entirely dedicated to the Monza Limited Edition. At the heart of the presentation was ‘Off the Grid’, a relaxed chat with Charles Leclerc away from the pit lane and press conferences, in which he spoke about style, music and his life away from the racetrack. He told the guests in attendance that, for him, fashion and motorsport are becoming increasingly intertwined.

The collection itself is designed as a tribute to Schumacher and takes its inspiration directly from his first season. The replica T-shirt and replica shirt feature seven stars, one for each of his World Championship titles. The racing jacket goes into the greatest detail: its stitching is modelled on the construction of Schumacher’s 1996 racing overalls, the same cut that was once intended for the cockpit, now on the streets of Monza. The cap is adorned with his laurel wreath emblem, a detail from the visual language of his era. The collection is worn by Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, both on the grid and off the track at Monza. 

Ideally, this collection will then be on display right at the top of the podium during the prize-giving ceremony. As you know: it’s a home race. That counts double and triple for Ferrari. If they manage that, the World Championship title can wait another year, if need be. That said… at least Charles Leclerc hasn’t quite written it off yet, though he takes a primarily pragmatic view of the matter. He takes it race by race, he revealed in the run-up to the home race on the Formula 1 podcast “Beyond The Grid”, but as long as the World Championship isn’t decided, he believes he still has a chance. According to him, it’s the upgrades to the car that are making the difference this season. 

PUMA has already made a good start with the update in Milan for its drivers’ collection.

→ Click here for the PUMA x Scuderia Ferrari HP Monza Limited Edition

The Art of Ferrari – a ramp book

And here’s a personal note for all Ferraristi: THE ART OF FERRARI by Michael Köckritz is due to be published on 16 September. It is not just another book about horsepower, model years or lap times for the brand with the prancing horse as its emblem. “There are plenty of those already – and, to be honest, the finest stories about Ferrari have never been found in the technical specifications anyway,” emphasises author Michael Köckritz, publisher and editor-in-chief of the motoring culture magazine ramp. That is why, across 400 pages, this book celebrates Ferrari as a cultural phenomenon in its own right.