Michael Schumacher is one of the biggest legends in the history of F1. He is a seven-time world champion, and dominated in the early 2000s in the sport, by winning five consecutive titles between 2000 and 2004. Earlier this week, current Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc drove Schumacher’s title-winning 2003 Ferrari car at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
The F2003-GA was driven by Schumacher in the 2003 season and helped the German win seven races on his way to securing his fifth world championship. It is a very iconic car and Leclerc was extremely grateful to be given the opportunity to drive it.
Charles Leclerc got to drive Michael Schumacher’s 2003 Ferrari.
That sound ❤️ pic.twitter.com/0fDFOGMKdK
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) February 7, 2023
Leclerc shared pictures and videos of himself driving the car on social media, and fans were excited to see it. Reputed F1 journalist Will Buxton, too, was ecstatic to see the old & iconic F2003-GA being driven once again.
Also read: Daniel Ricciardo Says 2-Time World Champion Max Verstappen Doesn’t Know How to Drive Manual Car
Will Buxton awed by the sound of Michael Schumacher’s 2003 car
One of the biggest complaints regarding modern F1 cars is the sound they produce. The V10 engine produced an incredible screeching noise when the cars were zooming around at full speed, which was something fans absolutely adored. As the power-units evolved, the sound they produced kept changing.
With the onset of the turb0-hybrid era in 2014, the sounds produced by the power units changed drastically and several fans who followed the sport back in the V10 engine days felt like the cars didn’t sound like racing cars anymore. Buxton too, feels the same about the new engines.
Don’t care if it’s slower. It’s sounds faster. It sounds scary. It sounds how racing cars should sound. https://t.co/TQMk5BmCwe
— Will Buxton (@wbuxtonofficial) February 6, 2023
He took to his Twitter account to react to Leclerc driving Schumacher’s car and was awed by it. The older cars were slower, but the Brit emphasized on the fact that it sounded faster. “It’s how racing cars should sound,” Buxton wrote.
Charles Leclerc looking to bring success back to Ferrari
Schumacher is one of the most iconic names in Ferrari’s long and glittering history and Leclerc wants to join the list too. After a disappointing finish to the 2022 campaign, the Monegasque driver will be hoping for redemption in the coming campaign.
After Schumacher’s five consecutive drivers’ championship wins, the only other driver to win a title for Ferrari was Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
Since then, however, no driver has been able to bring success back to the Ferrari camp and this is something Leclerc will want to change heading into 2023.
