Scuderia Ferrari appeared to be in excellent form during the first two free practice sessions for the Australian Grand Prix, and the question arises whether they have a chance to win on Sunday; here’s what Charles Leclerc thinks about it.
European Ferrari fans had quite a pleasant awakening. The Melbourne practice sessions held during the night and early morning highlighted an excellent SF-24 single-seater, a car capabile of challenging Red Bull at the Albert Park circuit at least based on the data from the first day of track action. In Australia, will Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have the first chance to win a race in 2024?
After finishing fourth in a somewhat unrepresentative first free practice session, Charles Leclerc topped the second free practice session, which were much more indicative of the true competitiveness. Apart from a very solid performance in terms of outright pace, the Italian side also proved to be extremely competitive in race trim.
The tire compound used by the Monegasque (and other top teams) was the C4, which is the medium tire selected by Pirelli for the third weekend of the championship.
Regarding the sensations experienced and looking ahead to Saturday, when qualifying is scheduled, Charles Leclerc remained positive: “It’s been a productive day, I had good feelings from the first lap and I always felt comfortable in the car. The most important thing for us will be to manage the evolution of the track and understand in advance how it will change. We need to work on refining the car’s balance and take another step forward for qualifying. For now, it seems like we’re in a good position, but we’ll have to see how we go tomorrow when I expect the field to be much closer,” Charles Leclerc said in statements reported in Ferrari’s Friday practice report, posted on the Maranello team’s official website.
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Positive feelings, but can Ferrari win in Melbourne?
Speaking to Sky UK, Charles Leclerc addressed more specifically Ferrari’s chances of beating Red Bull for the race win at the Albert Park circuit. The Monegasque didn’t want to lean too heavily in one direction; however, there is a sense of awareness that the target has never been closer than in Australia at the beginning of this F1 season.
“I’d say we’re in a better position compared to the first two races. However, Red Bull hasn’t pushed yet, so we’ll have to wait and see to understand what the potential is. I think they’re still ahead, but we could have our best chance since the start of the season,” stated Ferrari’s #16, winner in Melbourne in the 2022 Australian Grand Prix.
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