Ferrari will celebrate its 1000th Grand Prix milestone this weekend at the Tuscan GP by sporting a commemorative livery for the event.
The usual scarlet red cars will be splashed in a burgundy paint scheme similar to the colour used by Ferrari on its 125s the team used when it made its Grand Prix debut at Monaco in 1950.
The team is the first to reach the 1000 GP feet with the special one-off livery just one part of a number of celebratory events to recognise the storied success of the famed Italian marque.
“Scuderia Ferrari’s 1000th Grand Prix is a very important milestone, therefore it had to be marked in a special way,” said Piero Ferrari, vice-chairman of Ferrari.
“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 125, 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.”
Mercedes, who ran a special livery at last year’s German Grand Prix to recognise 125 years in motorsport, will celebrate Ferrari at Mugello with the Safety Car going red for the weekend.
This weekend will also be the first race of the year to welcome a handful of fans trackside with 2,880 tickets made available.
“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 four-time world champion 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.”
Both drivers will don burgundy overalls and special helmet designs for the event.
Formula 2 and Ferrari junior driver Mick Schumacher will also pilot a Ferrari F2004 – the car his father, Michael, won his seventh world title in – ahead of the race on Sunday.
The Tuscan Grand Prix is the first race held at the Mugello circuit and is a fitting backdrop to see Ferrari’s 1000th race celebrated at home in Italy.
The race will get underway from 1.10 am NZT Monday September 14.