The Maranello team particularly shone in the second free practice session with Charles Leclerc in first position.
The second free practice session of the Australian Grand Prix delivered a convincing Ferrari, both in race pace and in qualifying simulation. Particularly impressive was Charles Leclerc, who finished in first position and showed a solid and consistent race simulation, on par with the McLarens.
The Monegasque driver, interviewed by the press after the free practice sessions, stated that he aims to target pole position. These were his words: ‘Today, the feeling with the car was good, and we had a solid first day on track. There is still room for improvement in terms of car balance, which is something common to everyone in the paddock, as these cars are still quite new to all of us, and we need to push to understand their limits. It’s too early to draw conclusions: we’ll have a clearer idea of each team’s pace only tomorrow in qualifying. In general, it was a good Friday to start, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow when we’ll be aiming for pole position.’
Fifth place, instead, for Lewis Hamilton, who was four-tenths behind his teammate in the qualifying simulation, while showing a good pace on long runs. These were the Englishman’s words: ‘Extremely excited, it was fantastic to finally drive the Ferrari on track. The car is completely different compared to my past experiences on this circuit, so it took me a bit of time to adapt in FP1, but this is my challenge, and I’m facing it with the utmost enthusiasm. In the second session, it went a bit better, and I’m learning, managing to complete some long runs, which are particularly important for me. We are building our pace step by step to go faster and faster.’
The Briton then added: ‘What’s different? Pretty much everything in general: the car is clearly different from the one I drove in the past. I have to adapt my driving style bit by bit, but I really enjoy driving it. There’s still work to do on the car balance, and we’ll work on it overnight. Also, we need to find a bit more pace, but that was expected. It’s about putting all the elements together, step by step, maximizing our potential, and pushing as hard as we can. We need to keep working hard, and I’m confident to see what improvements we can make tomorrow.’
Photo: X Scuderia Ferrari HP