Ferrari will ditch its red livery in favor of “fresh and unexpected colors” for next month’s Miami Grand Prix.
The Scuderia’s cars will be repainted blue for the race weekend, which will mark the 70th anniversary of Ferrari’s presence in North America.
The change of colors will only apply to the race in Miami, after which the “black horses” will once again shine on a red background.
Ferrari will come in two shades of blue – Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino. Both are historically associated with the Formula 1 brand and team.
Azzurro La Plata – the lighter blue, similar to the blue of Argentina’s flag, is a nod to the color worn by legendary pilot Alberto Ascari.
He was Ferrari’s first Formula 1 world champion, winning the title in consecutive 1952 and 1953. Ascari did so wearing a blue racing suit and blue helmet.
Ferrari ditched the red and replaced it with blue and white for the final two races of 1964, the USA and Mexico races.
The “Black Horses” even have a champion who triumphed in blue. His name is John Surtees, who won the title in 1964 when he finished second at the Mexican Grand Prix and was just one point ahead of Graham Hill in the final standings.
The great Niki Lauda also wore a blue kit in his debut season at Ferrari in 1974, before swapping it for red the next.
Meanwhile, the other tone of blue that will be used – Azzurro Dinois darker, last worn by Clay Regazzoni in 1974 before Ferrari drivers were regularly donned in Rosso Corsa.
The race in Miami will be the second in a row for Ferrari in the USA, for which the Italian team will change the colors of its cars.
Last year in Las Vegas, the “black horses” took to the track with cars in red and white, and this year we will see them in even more extravagant blue.
