Leclerc takes delivery of 2019 Italian GP-winning Ferrari ahead of Imola race

Charles Leclerc had a red-letter day on Thursday as the Ferrari driver took delivery of a very special present, ahead of the team's first home Grand Prix of the year at Imola…

The Monegasque driver has received the Ferrari SF90 in which he won the Belgian GP and the 2019 Italian Grand Prix from pole position. Sealed in front of thousands of tifosi in dramatic fashion, it was his second career GP win and Ferrari's first home win since 2010, when Fernando Alonso won at Monza.

READ MORE: Dazzling Leclerc fends off both Mercedes to end Ferrari's Monza win-drought in 2019

“I’d say it’s a wonderful present. I’m not a serial collector, but I do like some things a lot. I still have my first kart, because it has wonderful memories for me and now I have the Formula 1 car with which I took my first win. I have to say thank you to the team, as it made me very happy,” he said at Imola.

The Ferrari SF90 – named to celebrate Ferrari’s 90th anniversary – was also the car in which Leclerc won the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix in which his childhood friend Anthoine Hubert tragically passed away in an F2 crash.

That season, Leclerc finished fourth in the standings and Ferrari second overall, before falling to sixth in 2020. Now they are aiming to bounce back at home in Imola, after a double-points haul in Bahrain thanks to Leclerc and new team mate Carlos Sainz.

READ MORE: Ferrari in the fight with McLaren heading to Imola, say Sainz and Leclerc