Charles Leclerc drives Ferrari Formula 1 car through Maranello streets

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc drove his F1 car through the streets of Maranello in Italy. The Ferrari F1 team is back in the headlines for the first time since the novel coronavirus pandemic halted racing activities back in March.

Ferrari revealed that the 22-year-old Monegasque was the first modern-era driver to have driven an F1 car through their hometown.

Leclerc tweeted, "Good morning Maranello! Sorry if I woke you up this morning, I was just going to work."

Leclerc's early morning trip took him from the factory gates, where the late team founder Enzo Ferrari drove the first Ferrari car in 1947, through Via Abetone Inferiore.

Eventually, he drove past the Ferrari museum and travelled down Via Gilles Villeneuve to Fiorano.

According to the BBC, the low-speed run ended at the Fiorano test track. Leclerc's latest drive came 110 days after he last drove the SF1000 in February during testing in Spain.

Leclerc said, "I don't normally like getting up early, but this morning there was a great reason to do so. It was exciting to get back in the car, 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."

The rescheduled 2020 Formula 1 season is due to start in Austria with two races to be held on July 5 and 12. Both the races would happen behind closed doors and under carefully controlled conditions.

The coronavirus pandemic has sent the global sports industry to a grinding halt. Formula 1 couldn't avoid the complications of the pandemic. Recently, the Japanese, Singapore and Azerbaijan Grands Prix were cancelled among others, in an attempt to restrict any further spread of the virus.

As of now, eight races have been announced to be held in Europe, running from early July until early September. The F1 authorities are confident about being able to organise at least 14-15 races this year.

However, nothing is concrete as of yet, with many countries around the world imposing strict measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Amidst such a situation, it has to be seen if F1 could organise the high-profile races in countries like the USA, which has so far recorded the highest number of COVID-19 positive cases and deaths in the world. The US Grand Prix is originally scheduled to be held on October 25.