F1 | Ferrari: in Monza with a touch of black on the livery

The home event is always special for Ferrari, especially when it arrives in Monza, with the public ready to wave the flags of the Maranello team from the stands and on the straight at the end of the race. For some years now, the Red has dedicated a special livery to the Italian stage in reference to historical events, anniversaries or particular victories, especially including Modena yellow, one of the colors of the Prancing Horse’s history also used on the 499P, winning the prestigious 24h of Le Mans.

This year, on the occasion of the Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari has decided to celebrate a material that has made the history of Formula 1, marking a crucial step in the construction of single-seaters, namely carbon fiber, which is characterized by its lightness and resistance. In this way, not only has carbon fiber taken on a crucial role for performance, but also on the safety front.

In 1982, Ferrari began reinforcing the 126 C2’s aluminum chassis with carbon-fiber panels and designing the wings entirely from the new material. The following year, midway through the season, the 126 C3 debuted, the first car with a carbon-fiber monocoque built in Maranello.

From the first carbon chassis in F1 in the early 1980s thanks to the intuition of designer John Barnard at McLaren, over the following decades the study of this material has become increasingly crucial, in search of solutions to guarantee ever-better performance, also with regard to the issue of flexibility, because there are some areas where less rigidity can give competitive advantages. At the same time, there is also a constant search for a lighter car, perhaps by applying fewer carbon skins.

Ferrari, together with some of its partners, has decided to celebrate this material for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. For this reason, both SF-24s will have a small touch dedicated to the chosen theme: the numbers 16 and 55 of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on the bodywork will not be in white with yellow borders as usual, but in carbon look. An intervention that is certainly minor compared to other liveries seen in recent years, including the one for Miami used this year with two shades of blue, simply limiting itself to the race numbers.

The accessories that will stand out the most this weekend, however, are definitely the suits, helmets, shoes and glasses, all inspired by this material. For the Italian GP, ​​both Leclerc and Sainz will wear a special edition of their helmets: the red will leave room for exposed carbon, as in their true nature, and the only other complementary color will be yellow, already celebrated in recent years right here in Monza. The carbon look will also be on the drivers’ racing suits as revealed yesterday, while the t-shirts will be in black and yellow.