(Motorsport-Total.com) – Anyone looking at Nico Hülkenberg’s and Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi R26 in Monaco will notice an unusual color. Where red surfaces are usually seen, the car now shines in bright yellow. And on the overalls of both drivers, yellow accents and the Audi rings are now visible in yellow – matching the yellow shoes.
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But why is the Audi wearing yellow in Monaco? It has to do with a true Grand Prix legend: Tazio Nuvolari.
On Thursday evening before the Formula 1 race in Monte Carlo, Audi surprisingly presented a superlative vehicle at the luxury hotel Cap Eden Roc in Antibes, Southern France, which, with 1,001 hp and a top speed of 350 km/h, will be the fastest Audi of all time. Its name: Audi Nuvolari.
Fittingly, the Formula 1 team also honors the Italian this weekend, who was considered one of the best drivers of the pre-war era. Nuvolari won 72 major races, including the Monaco Grand Prix in 1932 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1933.
Nuvolari primarily drove for the Italian brands Alfa Romeo and Ferrari before joining Audi’s predecessor Auto Union in 1938, which was facing a crisis: The team had lost its great hero Bernd Rosemeyer and was in the midst of technical and political upheavals.
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“What was needed was more than just another driver. It needed someone with instinct, courage, and experience to carry this story forward,” Audi states. And that driver was Tazio Nuvolari, the legendary “Flying Mantuan,” a nickname that refers to his hometown of Mantua and his fearless, almost weightless driving style.
Nuvolari was also known for wearing a yellow sweater at every race. Over time, this color became inextricably linked with his character and the qualities he embodied on the track. And that’s what the yellow on the Audi R26 in Monaco stands for.
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“Through Nuvolari’s extraordinary racing achievements, yellow today represents three core values for us: fearlessness, pioneering spirit, and dedication,” Audi states. “This is the legacy we want to live up to: courageous thinking, fearless action, and the self-confidence to drive things forward.”
“And there is no better place to revive this legacy than Monaco. A place shaped by racing history, glamour, risk, and legends. A stage where the past still feels alive, but never old. In Monaco, history does not stand still. It moves, it shines, and it reminds us where we come from.”
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