Ferrari will temporarily ditch the all-red livery that has characterized its Formula 1 cars for decades at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix. The team unveiled a one-off look for the upcoming race that was designed to celebrate the Italian brand’s North American division’s 70th birthday.
Starting with the SF-24, which was 95% redesigned in preparation for the 2024 season, designers explored the blue part of Ferrari’s color palette and added Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino accents on the front and rear wings, the halo, and the mirror caps. The wheels are finished in blue as well, and the car’s number features a blue outline. We’ve seen these styling cues before: The 158 race car that John Surtees won the world championship title in 60 years ago also rode on blue-finished wheels. The rest of the livery remains unchanged.
Ferrari explains that these colors weren’t chosen at random. Azzurro La Plata was the official race color of Argentina in the 1950s, according to the brand. Italian driver Alberto Ascari — who won the world championship with Ferrari in 1952 and 1953 — wore a shirt and a helmet in this shade of blue for luck. Ferrari later used Azzurro La Plata for suits worn by Surtees, Lorenzo Bandini, Ludovico Scarfiotti, Chris Amon, and even Niki Lauda. Several drivers also raced in Azzurro Dino, including Clay Regazzoni. It hasn’t been used since 1974, however.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Junior, the two Ferrari drivers for 2024, will celebrate 70 years of Ferrari in North America as well. Both will line up on the starting grid in Miami wearing a commemorative race suit, helmet, shoes, and gloves with accents in both shades of blue.
The 2024 Miami Grand Prix is scheduled for this Sunday, May 5. After that, the SF-24 will go back to being 100% red. Well, mostly red. Hewlett-Packard (HP) just began sponsoring Ferrari’s various racing teams, so its round, blue and white logo will appear on the SF-24.