Track debut for Italian tennis champion Sinner on his visit to Ferrari
The red-haired boy wears a smile.
He smiles when he arrives at Maranello’s Enzo Ferrari Museum and goes over the history of the Prancing Horse.
He smiles as he walks through the assembly lines and discovers how each Ferrari is hand-made and is indeed unique.
He smiles when he visits the Ferrari Classiche department and is able to admire some of the most iconic models.
He smiles as he gets behind the wheel of a blue Ferrari Purosangue and drives it through the hills around Maranello.
But most of all he smiles when Head Development Test Driver Raffaele De Simone takes him into the pits of the Fiorano circuit where an SF90 Spider Assetto Fiorano awaits him.
Watch as Maranello welcomes Italian tennis champion Jannik Sinner through the factory gates for the first time
This is the round-up of Jannik Sinner’s recent visit to Maranello.
The tennis champion, number four in the ATP rankings and fresh off the back of a win alongside his national teammates in the Davis Cup, 47 years after Italy’s only previous triumph, had already wanted to visit the company in the past, but reconciling his numerous tennis commitments with his free time is no easy task.
Now, during a break between the final of the Davis Cup – where Italy secured victory against Australia after defeating the Serbian team led by Novak Djokovic in the semi-final – and his resumption of training commitments in Spain, he took the opportunity to spend half a day at Ferrari, where he was welcomed by CEO Benedetto Vigna. And to enjoy a debut: on the track.
“It was the first time for me,” he said after finishing his laps at the wheel of the SF90 Spider, “and it was an amazing thrill. In both this model and the Purosangue I felt enwrapped in the car, as if it were an extension of my body. A bit like my racket: only very much bigger...”
Smiles all around as Sinner meets Ferrari Chief Executive Officer Benedetto Vigna and Scuderia Team Principal Fred Vasseur. The tour included a visit to the Classiche Department and a lap in an SF90 Spider Assetto Fiorano with Head development test driver Raffaele De Simone
Jannik, who very recently became a Formula 1 partner, has a passion for engines that started way back: “It was my father and grandfather who passed it on to me. I’ve always watched the races with them ever since I was a kid. But then, when I started winning at tennis, there was a problem of an overlap, because if you get into the final in a tournament, you play on Sunday, the same day as the grand prix. So nowadays I watch them afterwards.”
Jannik Sinner in the Scuderia Ferrari's Hall of Victories at the Maranello Museum
For a car enthusiast such as Jannik, the visit to the assembly lines was also particularly interesting: “When I’m behind the wheel, the detail that gives me the biggest thrill is the sound. And the sound of a Ferrari is always something unique. But here in Maranello, I was struck by the attention that goes into every detail and that makes each Ferrari individual, whether it’s the livery, the seat or even the trim. It was also really nice to see the sense of belonging that is felt by all those who work here: it seems almost an honour to form part of a brand that has written the history of a sport. And much more than that.”