The winter break is in full swing and Christmas is just around the corner. Traditionally, Formula 1 drivers also celebrate Christmas, and they do so by playing Secret Santa. Each driver draws a lottery ticket and has to give the gift to his drawn ticket during the last race of the season. This again produced hilarious presents.

So it was Charles Leclerc who drew the ticket of his title rival Max Verstappen. Leclerc was creative and had a nice gift in store for his 'very biggest fan'. Verstappen had then already received the greatest gift in Japan, namely his second world championship. But perhaps Verstappen wanted to do it all over again on the simulator. Indeed, the Monegasque gave the Dutchman the latest F1 game, with Charles Leclerc on the front three times. The game came with a nice card from Ferrari containing a personal message for the two-time world champion. The Dutchman could not help but laugh.

Lion

For his part, Verstappen had drawn Mick Schumacher's ticket. The brand-new Mercedes reserve driver received a stuffed lion from the two-time world champion. Also entirely appropriate, Verstappen arranged for Schumacher to adopt a real lion in the wild for a year. A nice reference to the Dutch lion and 'Unleash the Lion', Verstappen's slogan.

Other Christmas gifts given include a doorstop for Kevin Magnussen (in reference to Günther Steiner's office door), a maple tree planted in Switzerland in the name of Sebastian Vettel. Valtteri Bottas received a Minion cycling suit and Yuki Tsunoda had arranged a bottle of Japanese Sake for Sergio Perez.

Watch the video below:

F1 Secret Santa is here!

What did the drivers give each other for Christmas this year? #F1

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 19, 2022