Charles Leclerc today took to the wheel of the 2018 SF71H in the second day of Ferrari’s five-day test at Fiorano.
44 days on from the conclusion of the 2020 season in Abu Dhabi, Leclerc climbed back into a Ferrari as he conducted running on the second day of Ferrari’s week-long test.
The Monegasque’s programme saw him reacquaint himself with various team procedures and driving a real-life F1 car for over 100 laps, with practice starts amongst key areas of focus along with conducting work to prepare for pre-season testing which takes place in Bahrain in mid-March.
Speaking on his return to the cockpit, Leclerc said; “Getting back in the car today was great, in fact it was brilliant!”
Leclerc also was pleased to return to an usual routine after testing positive for Coronavirus earlier this month, saying; Seeing my mechanics again, putting the race suit on, doing my warm-up routine, putting on my helmet and finally jumping in the car and pressing the starter button….”
On the feeling of hearing the car roar into life, Leclerc admitted that “the sound of a Ferrari engine is always magic.”
Leclerc went on to complete his programme, saying; “The day was simply perfect and we got through all the work we had planned to do. I really enjoyed myself!”
Carlos Sainz meanwhile was trackside observing Leclerc as he prepared to take to the wheel of a Scuderia Ferrari F1 car for the first time tomorrow, with the Spaniard also set to run on Thursday morning before handing over to Haas’ Mick Schumacher on the afternoon.
Schumacher will also run on Friday morning before Test and Reserve Driver, Callum Ilott climbs into the cockpit after lunch to bring the five day test to its conclusion.
Giuliano Alesi, Marcus Armstrong and Robert Shwartzman all ran on the opening day, in which Alesi’s drive was his goodbye to Ferrari Driver Academy ahead of his switch to a Japanese programme.
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