Incredible success
Ferrari took the opportunity to celebrate its historic victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June, with the Hypercar 499P driven by James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi. and Alessandro Pier Guidi. This exceptional victory, celebrated in the context of Formula 1, is intended to affirm that Ferrari is a single entity, involved in many areas, on and off the track. History also to forget the misfortunes in Formula 1? Three very different examples of Ferrari cars, but all sharing racing DNA, will be on display in the Fan Zone behind the paddock. Of course, the 499P, victorious at Le Mans, will be there, as well as a 296 GT3, Maranello’s new weapon in GT competition, which has already proven itself in the spring by taking victory in the general classification of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring on the legendary Nordschleife. and the F2003-GA which won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in 2003.
Yellow, another iconic Ferrari color
Ferrari has recently returned to yellow. Already in 2022, for the brand’s 75th anniversary, the Giallo Modena was prominently displayed on the bonnet and spoiler of the SF-75. This year, it’s back, a little more discreetly, to celebrate the livery of the 499P that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in the form of the yellow “V” stripes that run along the side of the Hypercar, featured on nose and engine cover. The two cars already have the Rosso Le Mans red color in common, with a matte finish on the Formula 1 car and a glossy finish on the endurance car. The race numbers – 16 and 55 – will also be yellow. Charles and Carlos will have suits specially designed for this race, sporting Maranello’s trademark yellow, red and black colors and the ‘long F’ logo which also features on the rear wing. Special helmets too: mostly yellow for the Monegasque and black for the Spaniard.
The combination might be a bit too garish for some. Lando Norris was not thrilled with the design. The young Briton joked during an internet stream: “Do you think Ferrari’s stuff is more like McDonald’s this year than last year? “. Others joked about the beautiful outfits of Shell “gas station attendants” by Leclerc and Sainz.
Some tifosis regret that the Scuderia is no longer going anywhere and offers two totally yellow liveries, in homage to the color of the city of Model where the brand was born. Besides the problems may be commercial, it has nevertheless already existed. The Ferraris entered in Endurance by the Francorchamps team were yellow, as was the Ferrari 156 driven by the Belgian Olivier Gendebien at the 1961 Belgian Grand Prix, the Belgian national team having been integrated into the Scuderia during this event. Subsequently, yellow has always been very discreet on Ferraris. It is found in a slight border on the 312/68 and 312B of the years 68-69, and then the yellow is often that of a sponsor, first Agip, sometimes Goodyear with small yellow squares on the fins between 1988 and 1991 , then Shell from 1996.
Be that as it may, there is nothing odd about the Scuderia F1 celebrating the victorious 499P at Le Mans, it remains the glory of the prancing horse, but the errors of this season in F1 accentuate even more crudely the gap in success between the Scuderia and the Hypercar team which, let’s remember, is operated by AF Corse, and not by Ferrari directly.
