Lewis Hamilton snubbed after Ferrari Pope gift

Lewis Hamilton was not included in a F1 gift from Ferrari Chairman John Elkann to Pope Leo XIV.

The 49-year-old was invited to a private audience with the Pope at the Vatican, where Rome Reports shared a series of pictures from the meeting.

Elkann presented the Pope with a special gift; but rather than the gift being attached to F1 legend and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, his team-mate Charles Leclerc was bestowed with the honour.

Pope Leo was presented with Leclerc’s steering wheel, to which he asked: “A steering wheel… So is this a real steering wheel from a real car?”

“This is real, it was really used,” Elkann replied.

“No, no it’s not connected. You’d need to connect it to a car."

Elkann also presented the Pope with a scale model of the Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale, which is also the same supercar that Leclerc drives.

“So you can remember your passion for driving,” Elkann added.

Has a Pope ever received Ferrari gifts?

Elkann’s audience with the Pope is not the first time an incumbent at the Vatican has received gifts from Ferrari.

In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI received Michael Schumacher’s 2003 championship winning steering wheel from former chairman Luca di Montezemolo.

Schumacher’s steering wheel is now on display in the Carriage Pavilion of the Vatican Museums.

Benedict XVI was also given a Ferrari Enzo, which was later auctioned and the proceeds went to victims of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia.

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