Ferrari announce special livery featuring shades of blue for Miami Grand Prix

Ferrari have announced that they are set to unveil “fresh and unexpected colours” in a special livery for the upcoming Miami Grand Prix.

The design change will be a one-off and will feature two historic shades of blue – Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino – and will mark the 70th anniversary of Ferrari's presence in North America.

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The design has history as the iconic Rosso Corsa, the red synonymous with Italian racing cars since the 1920s, was replaced by the US’s white and blue livery in the last two races of the 1964 Formula 1 season, a combination that was also used on some other Ferrari racing cars by the North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.).

The special livery that will adorn this year's SF-24 car is to be revealed in Florida in the build-up to the Miami race – though a launch date is yet to be announced – but the Scuderia have provided a breakdown on the design’s nods to history and significance of the blue shades.

Azzurro La Plata – a lighter shade of blue that acts as the national racing colour of Argentina – echoes the colour worn by legendary driver Alberto Ascari during his most successful seasons in Formula 1 as he became Ferrari’s first world champion, winning the title in both 1952 and 1953.

The Italian would usually wear a blue jersey accompanied by a matching helmet, which he considered his lucky charms.

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The same colour was also seen on Ferrari drivers’ racing suits in the 1960s, including those of John Surtees, Lorenzo Bandini, Ludovico Scarfiotti and Chris Amon. Niki Lauda's racing suit during his inaugural year with Ferrari was also in this shade of blue, as were the shirts worn by the Maranello workforce.

Azzurro Dino, the other colour being revived by the team ahead of Miami, is a deeper shade which was also favoured by a number of drivers in the past.

Clay Regazzoni was the most recent to wear it in 1974 and, from that point onwards, the drivers' suits transitioned from blue to the now familiar red, with occasional switches to white.