Ferrari woke their hometown of Maranello on Thursday morning, by sending Charles Leclerc out on the street in his 2020 SF1000.
Three and a half months on from the final day of pre-season testing, the 2020 Ferrari F1 car was fired up again and driven by Charles Leclerc down the streets of Maranello – acting as a symbolic reawakening after the region was hit devastatingly hard to the coronavirus over the last few months.
Leclerc drove out of the Maranello factory at the crack of dawn, driving through the gates onto the Via Abetine Inferiore and passing Ferrari’s Gestione Sportiva. The Monegasque driver then set off on a route down the Via Enzo Ferrari 28 and past the Maranallo Museum.
The Ferrari event was organised in conjunction with the Maranello City Council, who helped keep the streets clear for spectators to gather and watch the 2020 Formula 1 car drive down to Ferrari’s track at Fiorano.
Leclerc stopped the car on the track, as track testing of the 2020 car is not permitted.
“I don’t normally like getting up early, but this morning there was a great reason to do so.” said Leclerc.
“Maybe it woke a few people up, but it was great to drive my Ferrari through the streets of Maranello in the SF1000. “It was exciting to get back in the car today, particularly on such a special route. Being back in the cockpit felt like coming home again.”
“It seemed like a fun way of saying we are ready to get back on track.” continued the Ferrari driver. “Now I can’t wait to drive the SF1000 in Austria.”
The season begins in two weeks time at Austria’s Red Bull Ring, where Renault carried out a private two day shakedown with their 2018 car earlier this week. Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon each got a day at the wheel, with the intent of blowing off cobwebs after so long without driving. Mercedes also did a similar test at Silverstone last week, using their two year old W08.
This is our favourite alarm clock ⏰
Courtesy of @charles_leclerc and #SF1000 🏎🚀
Thanks to our partner in crime ⚡️: #Maranello City Council #essereFerrari 🔴 pic.twitter.com/tEoQYpYVDS— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) June 18, 2020
