After a troubling weekend for the Italian team in the Netherlands, Ferrari looks forward to its home race at Monza. And to celebrate with the Tifosi, it has revealed a special blue-and-white team kit in tribute to Niki Lauda’s 1975 championship win 50 years ago.
On the Monday following the Dutch Grand Prix, Ferrari teased both a blue-and-white team kit worn by Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in a video posted to social media, and a livery, harking back to that worn by the legendary Ferrari 312T, one of the most successful car designs in Formula 1 history.Â
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The 1975 Italian Grand Prix saw Lauda qualify in pole position, and while Clay Regazzoni took the victory, a third-place finish from Lauda gave him enough points to win his first F1 world championship. He would, of course, go on to win another two in 1977 and 1984 – the last with McLaren.Â
After such a strong career, it was only fitting that he would return to the championship in an advisory role for Ferrari, serve a short stint as Jaguar team principal, and finally become non-executive chairman for Mercedes, where he would be instrumental in Hamilton’s move to the Brackley outfit. Here, he stayed until he sadly passed in 2019 after six constructors’ championship wins.Â
This will be an emotional weekend for Hamilton, who was close to the F1 legend after working together so successfully for such a period of time. Both Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel wore helmets in tribute to Lauda upon his death, and on winning the race, the seven-time champion dedicated the win to the Austrian.Â
Amid a difficult season and coming off a crash at Zandvoort that ended his race prematurely, Hamilton will want to bounce back not only for the Tifosi at their home circuit but also for Lauda, whose name he will likely be carrying on his car this weekend.Â
Photos from Dutch GP – Race
Dutch GP – Sunday, in photos
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