Charles Leclerc spoke to the press after the third and final day of testing, with the Monegasque driver finishing in ninth place.
The third and final day of testing in Bahrain concluded with George Russell taking the top spot ahead of Max Verstappen. The conditions were challenging, with the two Ferraris finishing in sixth and ninth positions, with Hamilton and Leclerc, respectively.
The Monegasque driver, unlike the first two days, went out on track in the morning, facing difficult conditions due to the wind and rain from the previous day. Leclerc then spoke to the press, describing his feelings after the three days of testing. These were his words: “It’s a bit difficult to confirm the feeling because I don’t think I’ve ever driven on a track in Sakhir this cold. There was also some rain, and the temperatures aren’t what we’re used to, so comparing this to other years is very difficult. Usually, we have much warmer conditions. We are seeing all the numbers we expected. Today we struggled a bit more with the balance, yesterday afternoon it was a bit harder to manage, so there’s still some work to be done. . Am I satisfied? Before I make any judgments, I’d rather wait. “.
Leclerc then added: ““Even in terms of hierarchy, it’s hard to make a call because we don’t know what level of fuel the others are running with. McLaren looks like a very strong car for now, but it’s very early to talk. We need to focus on ourselves and not get distracted by the initial rankings we think we see right now, because we don’t know anything. There are still many question marks, but we’ve learned a lot during these first tests, and that will certainly help us to hit the right window for the first race.” “.
There are many uncertainties, starting with the work of the other teams. Leclerc commented: “In testing, you focus a lot on yourself, but you also look a little at what others are doing. However, we don’t know in what conditions they are running, this might give us a first idea of what to expect, but there are still a lot of unknowns, so we need to take these times with a pinch of salt.
However, it was very important for us to understand what we are missing compared to them, but also compared to my feelings, and as I’ve said many times, there’s still a lot of work to do to be ready for Melbourne: that’s what we’re trying to figure out with Lewis. The fact that one drives in the morning and the other in the afternoon means one works while the other doesn’t, so there’s not much time to talk, but when we have a few minutes free, we always talk about the car, the sensations, our expectations, and what we haven’t been able to do yet as we would have liked, trying to compare ourselves.” “.
Photo: X Scuderia Ferrari