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Ferrari unveil retro burgundy livery for 1000th Grand Prix at Mugello
The Tuscan Grand Prix will be the 1000th Formula 1 race Ferrari have contested – and to mark the occasion their cars will run in a special livery at Mugello this weekend.
The team, started by legendary founder Enzo Ferrari, first competed in F1 in the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix, and thereafter became a fixture in the sport, and the only constructor to have raced in every single season of F1.
LISTEN: Luca Di Montezemolo on working with Enzo Ferrari, signing Ayrton Senna and more
To reflect the incredible milestone, Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc's SF1000 cars will race in a one-off burgundy colour scheme this weekend – as you can see in the image above – in honour of the first livery seen on a Ferrari racing car, as Piero Ferrari, son of Enzo and now vice chairman of the company, explained.
“Scuderia Ferrari’s 1000th Grand Prix is a very important milestone, therefore it had to be marked in a special way," he said. "That’s why we decided to run a unique livery on the cars for this event, with the SF1000s taking to the track at the Mugello Circuit in the Burgundy colour first seen on the 125S, the first racing car to carry the Ferrari name.
WATCH: The origins of Scuderia Ferrari
"Even the look of the race numbers on Charles’ and Sebastian’s cars will reflect the tradition of the past, giving the impression of being hand painted onto the bodywork, while the drivers’ race suits will also match the car colour.
"It’s a tribute to our origins: to our starting point for the amazing Ferrari story, characterised by an endless desire to compete," he added.
READ MORE: Why does the Scuderia inspire passion in racing fans like no other team?
The anniversary will be extra special for Ferrari fans, as the team's 1000th race is being held at their own Mugello track – a circuit that has never before hosted an F1 race – and Vettel and Leclerc said they are both excited by the prospect.
“It’s a great honour to be driving a Ferrari in what is the 1000th Grand Prix for this, the longest serving of all Formula 1 teams," said Vettel. "It will be even more of a pleasure to celebrate this anniversary at the Mugello Circuit and also because, for the first time this season, a few spectators will be allowed into the grandstands.
"It is a very nice and super technical track with changes of gradient and very demanding corners. The track should better suit our car, so let’s hope we can deliver something to please the tifosi, both at home and at the circuit.”
TUSCANY: Charles Leclerc's Mugello circuit guide
“I can’t wait to be on track at Mugello with Ferrari," said Leclerc. "The circuit is really beautiful and on top of that, we are celebrating our team’s 1000th GP in Formula 1. I’m also pleased to learn there will be a few thousand fans in the grandstands.
"The track has a very long straight, but it’s not super fast like the past two we raced on and so it should be a bit better suited to our car. It will be important to make the most of the track time available, as we have no data from which to start. We hope to put on a show for the people at home and those in the stands and also get back to picking up some good championship points.”
READ MORE: Already a hero – How Charles Leclerc won the hearts of the tifosi in a single season
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