F1 pays respects to the Pope
World champions Ferrari led the mourning at Formula One’s Bahrain Grand Prix for The Pope, who died last night.
The Pope passed away at the Vatican last night at the age of 84 a long battle against illness.
All sport in Italy has, as is traditional after the death of a Pope, been cancelled this weekend but Ferrari took to the track hundreds of miles away in Bahrain.
Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix went ahead as scheduled, as will the race later today, but there was a sombre mood among leading drivers.
The sport is dominated by drivers from Roman Catholic countries while world champion Michael Schumacher and his Italian Ferrari team visited The Pope earlier this year to mark their recent success by presenting him with a model Formula One car.
Schumacher, who qualified second this morning, said: “The atmosphere is sort of very strange for all of us.
“The Germans, the Italians, they all feel very connected to The Pope as many other countries do.
“You can’t really explain in words the emotions and feelings going on around the team particularly as we had a visit with the Pope earlier this year, it is very sad.”
Ferrari will alter the design of their livery for this afternoon’s race to incorporate a black mark of respect on the nose cone.
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