Ferrari Unveils Special Retro Burgundy Livery to Mark 1000th Grand Prix

The upcoming Tuscan Formula 1 Grand Prix in Italy will be the 1000th race in which Ferrari will be contesting, and what better way to mark the occasion than running the cars in a special Burgundy livery at Mugello over the weekend?

Founded by Enzo Ferrari, the Ferrari Formula 1 team first competed in the competition back in 1950 at the Monaco Grand Prix, and thereafter became a fixture in the sport, and the only constructor to have raced in every single season of F1 to date.

“Scuderia Ferrari’s 1000th Grand Prix is a very important milestone, therefore it had to be marked in a special way," said Piero Ferrari, son of Enzo and now vice chairman of the company.

"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.

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.

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.

“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.

It is said that the Formula One Safety Car, which is an adapted Mercedes AMG GTR road car, will also be painted red this weekend as a nod to Ferrari’s milestone race.

Now, avid fans of the sport would remember that rivals Mercedes did something similar in July 2019 in Hockenheim, Germany to celebrate the company’s 125th year in motorsports, where the drivers were sporting 1950s gear, and the day actually turned out to be a complete disaster for the team.

While Bottas made a mistake and crashed out, Hamilton entered the pits beyond the legal entry point to replace a broken front wing after a collision with Leclerc, and picked up a five-second time penalty, failing to collect any points.

Realising this, the German team responded to Ferrari’s Burgundy livery announcement in social media saying, “Well, this didn’t really go very well for us last year” which cracked everyone up.

So, following last week’s dramatic race, the following round also promises to be an exciting one. Let us wait and see how the Prancing Horses are going to do on their big day.