Ferrari to honor Argentina with special edition livery at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix

SEATTLE - Celebrating in style. That's the motto for Ferrari for the upcoming Miami Grand Prix that will see the famous Italian racing team change its colors for the first time in 70 years.

On April 23, Ferrari announces that they are set to unveil "fresh and unexpected colors" in a special livery for the 2024 Miami Grand Prix. The design change will feature two historic shades of blue in substitution to their traditional Rosso Corsa – Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino – as part of the Ferrari's 70th anniversary presence in North America.

The return to blue comes as an attempt to pay homage to past Ferrari legends that used the same uniforms and livery in the early years of Ferrari. The Italian team was forced to replace its traditional Rosso Corsa to a white and blue livery in the last two races of the 1964 Formula 1 season, a combination that was later used by the North American Racing Team on other Ferrari racing cars.

This year, Ferrari's SF-24 will be adorned with special livery in these two shades of blue and it is expected to be revealed in Florida ahead of the Miami race on May 5.

One of the shades that will be unveiled pay homage to Argentina, as the Azurro La Plata shade of blue was worn by legendary driver Alberto Ascari, who was Ferrari's first world champion winning the title in consecutive seasons between 1952 and 1953. Ascari would usually wear a a blue jersey with a matching blue helmet which he considered to be his "lucky charms."

Ascari, one of Ferrari's most iconic drivers, remains as the team's only Italian champion and, along with Michael Schumacher, they are the only drivers to win back-to-back championships with Ferrari.

The last driver to wear Ferrari's blue jerseys was Clay Regazzoni, who wore it during the 1974 Formula 1 season. Since then, Ferrari has stuck with the traditional red with occasional switches to white.

Ferrari and Argentina have quite a storied relationship that dates back to the early days of the Italian team. The Argentine José Froilán González was the first driver to win a Grand Prix for Ferrari in Formula 1 history, when he won the 1951 British Grand Prix. Carlos Alberto Reutemann is another Argentine with a history with Ferrari, having raced for the Italian team between 1976-78 and winning five races.

Apart from the livery on the cars, Puma and Ferrari will release a special edition collection that includes a varsity jacket, team shirts and a Speedcat Pro racing boot.