Why are Ferrari wearing blue at Italian Grand Prix? The reason behind colour change

Ferrari have ditched their iconic red for a special blue and white kit at the Italian Grand Prix. Their cars also have a one-off livery, with the changes made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Niki Lauda's first F1 world title.

Lauda, who memorably wore a blue race suit, could only finish third at Monza in 1975. But that result was enough to get him over the line with one race to spare that season, with Ferrari winning the championship in front of their home crowd.

The legendary Austrian went on to win another title with the Prancing Horse in 1977 and a third with McLaren in 1984. It's success that both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc could only dream of currently.

While the pair have been given a hero's welcome in Italy this week, their seasons have each been underwhelming. And last week's Dutch GP, where both ended up crashing out of the race, encapsulated their respective frustrations.

With Leclerc fifth in the drivers' standings and Hamilton trailing him in sixth, Ferrari's 18-year title drought will continue into the 2026 regulation changes. Team principal Fred Vasseur is looking forward to being boosted by the home support this weekend, albeit expressing caution about getting too caught up in the occasion.

He said: “As every year, we are eagerly looking forward to hitting the track at Monza, especially so just a few days after Zandvoort, which didn’t deliver the results we’d hoped for, even if we demonstrated that we had the race pace to do well.

“For the entire team, being surrounded by the passion of our tifosi is an incredible motivation to put our hearts into everything we do. We are aiming to give our very best to repay them for their constant support.

“However, in order to do that, we need to put emotions aside and focus on ensuring that we execute the weekend to the best of our ability, from the very first lap of free practice right through to the final lap of the race.

“Over the course of this season, we’ve made progress in terms of competitiveness, but with such a closely matched field, we must be flawless to get the results we’re aiming for. We’ll give it everything we have, knowing we can count on all the love and support of our tifosi."

Ferrari also incorporated blue for the Miami GP back in May. However, that was for a very different reason - to mark a year of working with title sponsors Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Lauda holds a special place in Hamilton's heart, having played a significant role in the seven-time world champion's move from McLaren to Mercedes in his role as non-executive chairman. The pair worked closely together at the Silver Arrows prior to Lauda's death in 2019.

Hamilton, who faces a five-place grid penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags at Zandvoort, will pay his own special tribute to him this weekend, wearing a yellow and white helmet bearing his name. Speaking about Lauda in 2020, he emotionally said: "Niki is someone who I miss and who I think we all miss dearly.

"It is a difficult subject to talk about. Someone you are so fond of and someone that ultimately the world has lost, but I have only the greatest memories with Niki."