Written by Vyas Ponnuri
The retro Ferrari livery set to feature at the Las Vegas weekend; Image Credits - Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari unveiled a special livery on Thursday, ahead of the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix, announced by the team across their social media platforms.
Decked in red and white, the livery takes a tour to the Ferraris of yesteryears, featuring white across the rear wing, the front wing and its end-plates, as well as white inserts across the SF23, featuring the nose cone, a circular number board in white, as well as splashes along the engine cover and the sidepod of the machine from Maranello.
Splashes of white also feature on the bodywork of the car; Image Credits - Scuderia Ferrari
The livery takes inspiration from Ferrari's former designs from the United States, and pays homage to the livery used back in the 1970s, the golden days of the Italian team enjoying plenty of success when F1 regularly visited the USA back then.
The SF23's special livery draws similarities to the Ferrari 312B, which raced in 1971, piloted by home favourite Mario Andretti, who took the car to victory during that year's South African Grand Prix.
White also featured on the championship-winning beasts from 1975 and 1977, both titles won by Austrian racer Niki Lauda. The team then proceeded to ease off the white on their cars the following year.
White was a regular feature on Ferrari's cars in the 1970s; Image Credits - Ferrari
Ferrari's 1993 challenger also featured a paint-scheme of white and red, however, as striking as the car looked, it failed to deliver, with Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger experiencing tough seasons for the team. It was back to an all-red livery for 1994.
White was also a regular feature on Michael Schumacher's championship-winning machinery during the 2000s, a golden run for both driver and team, which reaped benefits worth five world championships for driver and constructor apiece.
This colour combination was in place as part of Ferrari's sponsorship ties with Phillip Morris-owned Marlboro, the glamorous tobacco company having previously sponsored a famous team running red and white on their cars before, McLaren, during the glorious 1980s.
Ferrari once again incorporated white into their race cars when Santander joined the team in 2010, along with Fernando Alonso at the wheel of their cars, featuring prominently on the rear wing.
This partnership ran until 2018, capping off with the elegant-looking SF71-H. Yet, the team did not win the championship during these years, despite two world champions Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen at the wheel of the cars since 2015.
Sainz and Leclerc dressed in the race suits for the event; Image Credits - Scuderia Ferrari on X
And Ferrari's Las Vegas special livery will also be backed up by their drivers decked in red and white race suits, tailormade to match the livery on their SF23. The team also teased the livery on the F1 23 game, and announced the news of the livery making its way to the official F1 game very soon too. Players of the game might want to keep their eyes on social media to see this stunning livery arrive onto the game.
The Italian team's eyes have been trained on second place for some time now, sitting only 20 points off Mercedes, having been 56 behind the Brackley-based team during the summer break.
Ferrari will be looking to heap the pressure onto their nearest rivals, who endured a torrid time around the Interlagos circuit, with only one car from either team finishing in the points. Lewis Hamilton finished eighth for Mercedes, and Sainz only two places ahead, in sixth.
George Russell was forced to retire his Mercedes after the team's concerns of a potential engine failure in the works, while Charles Leclerc retired after a bizarre formation lap incident, after losing hydraulics from his engine at turn six.
And one would wonder if Las Vegas would suit the Italian team's low-drag set up, giving the Ferrari greater top speed down the long straights of the Las Vegas street circuit, over its closest rivals.
Speaking of Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World is set to play host to the much anticipated Las Vegas Grand Prix next weekend, with the sport returning to the Nevada desert for the first time in 41 years. And while that race was around the parking lot of the Caesar's Palace hotel, the 2023 layout will feature a run down the famous Las Vegas Strip, making its way past the Caesar's Palace Hotel.
The cars will drive down the famous Las Vegas strip; Image Credits - CNN
The race weekend takes a unique format, with the action brought forward by one day, with qualifying taking place on Friday night, and the main race on Saturday night, in an attempt to cater to the audiences of the sport. Do make sure to tune in to one of F1's most anticipated events, and see all the action unfold in 'Sin City' over the weekend!
