Now, the team is about to bring the colour back on its return to US soil, with a special edition collection from PUMA that is expected to be worn by the star drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, as well as other team members during the race weekend.
To mark this occasion, we delved into the history of Ferrari in blue – and this is what we found…
Sommer stars in Monaco
In 1950, Raymond Sommer became the first driver to compete in F1 in a blue Ferrari when he raced a 125 in the Monaco Grand Prix. Officially entered by Scuderia Ferrari themselves, the car was on loan to the French driver, who painted it in his national racing colours of light blue and ended up fourth in his only ever F1 finish.
Earlier that year, however, Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio had already driven a blue Ferrari – not in F1 but in winter races back home. The Ferrari 166, chassis 011F, was originally painted red on its victorious debut in the 1949 Monza Grand Prix but it was then bought with the support of the Argentine government, repainted in the nation’s racing colours of blue with a yellow engine cover, and raced in South America until 1952. It now lives in the Argentine Motor Museum: www.aca.org.ar/promociones/museo/catalogo/34.html
Back in F1, French driver Louis Rosier began racing a Ferrari in 1952 painted it in his light blue national colours, competing with his own outfit, Team Ecurie Rosier. Initially driving a Type 500 F2 and subsequently a 500/625, he raced through to the 1954 season, entering 17 F1 races and achieving a top finish of seventh in the Netherlands in 1953.
Blue for America
In 1959, the field for the US Grand Prix at Sebring included four Ferraris, one of which was painted blue. The team entered cars in traditional Italian red for English drivers Tony Brooks and Cliff Allison and German Wolfgang von Trips, but American Phil Hill’s Dino 246 sported his national racing colours – blue, with a white nose. Sadly, he failed to finish as clutch problems put Hill out by lap eight.
That was not the end of American blue and white, however, and two years later came the most famous blue Ferrari of all. It was the end of the 1964 season and, after a battle with the sport’s governing body over the rules, Enzo Ferrari withdrew his team from the final two races of the year and pledged to never race again in Italy's national colours.
It was a political move, however, and although the official Ferrari team was missing in the United States and the season finale in Mexico, it was represented instead by the ‘North American Racing Team’ – and the team’s drivers raced on in Ferrari cars run in an attractive half white and half blue livery.
John Surtees drove the blue Ferrari to second In the US race, held at Watkins Glen, and when the season came to a close, he appeared in the same colours and finished second again to secure the world title.
Suited and booted
Although only made rare appearances on the cars, during the 1950s and 1960s, blue was ever present in the Ferrari garage – because during that time the team’s drivers and mechanics wore blue overalls. This reflected the traditional colours of the team’s Italian home of Modena, but it also quite likely had something to do with the lack of availability of red race suits at the time!
There is very little history covering the blue team apparel of that era, but it is believed that the final F1 driver to wear a blue race suit for Ferrari – and please correct us if our delve into history failed to uncover any secrets – was Niki Lauda, in 1973, with the traditional blue suit switching to red from 1974 onwards.
Bringing back the history
Inspired by this rare but rich heritage of Ferrari in blue, the Miami Grand Prix will see PUMA and Ferrari create a limited-edition collection that harks back to those legendary light blue azzurro overalls.
The return of the classic blue tones promises to reignite the spirit of history, with statement pieces including a varsity jacket, team shirt, and the Speedcat Pro racing boot, as well as some exclusive accessories. It is collection that is tailored for the next generation of Ferrari superfans, to bring back the memories of what has gone before.
Race drivers Leclerc and Sainz, and the entire team, will wear the statement pieces of this collection over the Miami weekend, carrying forward the azzurro heritage – and you can too, as the PUMA x Scuderia Ferrari Miami Limited Edition Collection is now available at select PUMA stores, Scuderia Ferrari outlets, and at puma.com and ferrari.com.
