As far as former Ferrari president Luca di Montzemolo is concerned, a change of color for the Scuderia is almost an act of blasphemy.
The Italian outfit's 2019 prancing horse took everyone by surprise at its unveiling Maranello earlier this month, the SF90 following Red Bull Racing's lead by adopting a matte red finish.
Scuderia tech boss Mattia Binotto justified the change for technical reasons insisting the new color saved several hundred grams of weight.
But di Montezemolo, a purist who presided over Ferrari's glorious Schumacher years, was up in arms over the change.
"The Ferrari red, in my opinion, is sacred, it is a brand recognised across the world and therefore I do not really like it," Montezemolo told TuttoSport.
"It is like changing the colour of a flag and I am not convinced by the story that in doing so we have saved some weight."
However, the 71-year-old former Ferrari man admitted that he would give in to the change of shade if the Scuderia finally succeeds this year in bringing the title back to the House of Maranello.
"If all this should lead to a long-awaited success, then I would be willing to put aside the sorrow for the colour," he conceded.
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