07 February 2023 , 16:35
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Charles Leclerc treated Formula 1 fans to a lap around the Yas Marina Circuit in one of the cars which brought Michael Schumacher a world championship.
The F2003 was used by Ferrari during the F1 world championship of that same year. Schumacher won the drivers' title by two points over Kimi Raikkonen, while team-mate Rubens Barrichello came fourth.
It meant Ferrari also won that year's constructors' championship, 16 points clear of nearest challengers Williams, while McLaren were two more points further behind. It was the fourth of five titles in a row for Schumacher in a truly dominant period for the German racer and his team.
F1 cars have changed significantly in the 20 years since. Among the most noticeable differences are the grooved tyres which were used in that period, while V10 engines were still in use, long before the sport's Hybrid Era began.
Leclerc recently took the F2003 for a spin in Abu Dhabi. While he was using modern-day tyres, that same noisy engine was still fitted to the car – as could be heard when the Monegasque racer was on a hot lap.
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Last season's championship runner-up shared video of such a lap on social media, which set the tongues of F1 fans wagging. "What a day," wrote Leclerc as a caption to the clip of one full lap around Yas Marina.
"God I miss that sound," wrote @haloofthoughts, who feels the noise made by modern-day F1 cars "doesn't hit the same". @aninhap_ramos told Leclerc: "Watching you driving this car, that was one of the main reasons for me to fall in love with this sport, is incredible."
While current F1 engines are more environmentally friendly, the sound of the F2003 had fans wanting the older power units brought back to the sport. "Bring back the V10s," wrote @rossEFC95 while hundreds of other posted similar messages.
But their requests will be in vain. New power unit regulations set to come into force from the 2026 season will see engines with more than 1,000 horsepower produce net-zero exhaust CO2 emissions. They will also run on fully sustainable biofuels and have significantly greater electrical power.