First two free practice sessions wrapped up in Suzuka, with Ferrari showing some interesting things.
The Suzuka weekend started with the two McLarens at the front, as expected, and a Ferrari that, especially in the first session, showed some interesting things. Doohan’s crash at the first corner complicated the teams’ plans, and in tomorrow morning’s session, they will try to gather as much data as possible regarding race pace.
There is optimism in the words of the two Ferrari drivers, starting with Lewis Hamilton. The British driver finished fourth in the second session and gave these statements to the press: “Overall, it was a positive day. This track is amazing, the first sector is fantastic, and now you can really push, especially thanks to the new asphalt. In the first session, the car balance wasn’t perfect, but we made great progress between the morning and the afternoon, and I’m satisfied with the direction we’ve taken.
There’s still work to do tonight, and with the weather set to change, we’ll have to stay focused, but we’re in a good position, and I’m curious to see what we can do tomorrow. It’s incredible to see so many of my fans dressed in red, I’m really grateful and I hope I can give them some good results this weekend.”
It was also a constructive day for Charles Leclerc, with the Monegasque focusing on the little things to improve and, above all, to find in the SF-25. These are the words of Leclerc: “It’s been a constructive day. We tried different setups during the two practice sessions, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot about our car and how to extract the most from it. We didn’t manage to put everything together due to the various red flags and the traffic that compromised the second session, but I believe our performance is better than it seems on paper right now. It will be interesting to see how the change in weather conditions, especially the wind direction, will affect tomorrow’s sessions.”
Photo: Scuderia Ferrari Gallery
