After showing some really good speed during the first practice day for the Australian Grand Prix, Leclerc thinks Ferrari is doing well with its SF-24 car.
Even though he knows that Red Bull is still ahead in the races, Leclerc thinks Ferrari can do much better than before in the first two races of the season.
Leclerc said, “I think we are in a better position than before in the first two races. But Red Bull hasn’t shown all their speed yet, so we have to wait and see how fast they can go. I think they are still ahead, but this weekend might be our best chance since the season started.”
He mentioned that Ferrari started strong in Melbourne without many problems. He believes they can do even better as the weekend goes on.
“It feels good for now,” he said. “We’ve had a good day from the start of practice to the end. But we need to keep working hard because there might be some surprises. There’s still room for improvement. Our practice runs were good, which is nice to see.”
Leclerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz, returned to driving in Australia after having an operation for appendicitis. Even though he’s not feeling completely well, he still did very well in practice.
He said, “I feel okay. I’m a bit tired after practice, not being fully fit. But I’m happy I could complete practice without problems. If you had asked me a week ago if I could do practice without issues, I would have been very happy. So, I’m pleased with that.”
Sainz explained that he didn’t push himself or the car to the maximum during practice. He thinks he can do better in qualifying.
“I took it step-by-step, not pushing the car or myself too hard,” he said. “But I think with more laps, I will be faster tomorrow and hopefully fight for pole position with Leclerc. It’s going to be close, like we saw in practice.”
Also read: Leclerc Predicts Ferrari Will Soon Exert Pressure on Red Bull in Formula 1