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          Leclerc drives Ferrari F1 car through Maranello streets

          • ESPN
          Jun 18, 2020, 09:20 AM

          Charles Leclerc kicked off Ferrari's preparations for the return of Formula One by driving its 2020 car through the streets of Maranello, Italy.

          At dawn on Thursday, Leclerc drove the car out of the team's famous F1 factory. He drove through the town to Ferrari's test circuit at Fiorano.

          It marked the first time in 110 days -- since the end of preseason testing in February -- the car, dubbed the SF1000, had been fired up. The name references the team's 1000th race in F1, which it will celebrate at the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 19.

          Leclerc's route to Fiorano took him past the Gestione Sportiva, where Ferrari's F1 cars have been designed, built and developed since 2015. He drove past the Maranello Museum. Ferrari noted he is the first driver of the modern era to drive an F1 car through Maranello.

          The Monaco native tweeted a tongue-in-cheek apology to any residents of the town who had been woken up the car.

          A video of the car driving through the empty streets soon surfaced on social media.

          The F1 season will start at the Austrian Grand Prix on July 5 having been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Ferrari is expected to have a private test before the opening race. Mercedes and Renault have both had two-day tests in 2018 cars in recent weeks, while Racing Point took its 2020 car to the Silverstone circuit on Wednesday.

          At the start of the year Leclerc, who won three races in his first year with the team in 2019, signed a contract extension to 2024. His current teammate, Sebastian Vettel, will leave the team at the end of the year and be replaced by McLaren's Carlos Sainz in 2021.