The first day in Mexico concluded with Charles Leclerc in third place, about two and a half tenths behind the leader. Leclerc indicated that there is still work to be done and that he would be surprised if he managed to secure pole position, which seems more challenging to achieve compared to Austin. His teammate, Carlos Sainz, expressed a similar sentiment and didn’t hide his expectations for more from the Ferrari on Friday, suffering from overheating on the soft tire for a single lap and graining during the long run.
The first day of on-track action presented a Ferrari with two faces. Closer on a single lap, as is often the case, but further behind in terms of pace, especially due to the drop in the second part of the long run, even though it’s worth mentioning that Carlos Sainz’s simulation was partially disrupted by traffic.
At the end of the day, the two Ferrari drivers didn’t hide their anticipation for more from the Mexican Friday. Like other teams, the Scuderia was caught off guard by the track conditions, which were particularly dirty at the beginning of the session, as is often the case in Mexico City. The situation appears to be better on a dry lap than during the long run, primarily because the time differences seem to be reduced when compared to other tracks. Charles Leclerc has chosen a cautious approach, not getting carried away with easy enthusiasm after securing the pole in Austin last week when he outpaced Max Verstappen on Friday.
In general, the Monegasque believes that there is work to be done because Red Bull and McLaren have started the weekend well, even on a track where the Woking team didn’t expect to perform strongly due to the many fast corners. On top of that, there’s the mystery of Mercedes: the Brackley team didn’t impress on Friday, even though they had expected to do well, as they had indicated before the Grand Prix. Over time, the W14 has changed its characteristics somewhat, showing a good pace even in the slow corners, an aspect that had given the team confidence. However, it’s difficult to rule them out of the equation because the Anglo-German team tends to make significant progress over the weekend.
Charles Leclerc would be surprised to secure pole position, especially since using the softest tire compound on this track is challenging. He stated, “We still have a lot of work to do because McLaren seems very strong. Obviously, Red Bull and Max are equally strong, and Mercedes is more challenging to interpret for now. But we are focusing on ourselves, and we know what areas we need to work on. We hope it helps us make a step forward for Saturday.” – he pointed out.
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“It would be a big surprise if we managed to get pole, but never say never. It’s a difficult track; it’s hard to put everything together, but I think that we are a bit too far this weekend,” explained the Monegasque. Telemetry data show that the Ferrari performed well on all straights, both on the main straight where it enjoys a substantial advantage and on the straight before turn four and the one exiting the second sector. In those sections, the SF-23 can gain time but struggled more in the middle part of the track, where there are high-speed curves, which require precise car handling on entry into the turns, an aspect where the SF-23 showed some shortcomings.
His teammate, Carlos Sainz, also mentioned the same problems, highlighting the difficulties in managing the overheating of the softer tire for a single lap. According to the Spanish driver, the Maranello team hasn’t yet found the right balance, especially struggling with rear grip and showing pronounced graining on the left rear tire during the long run.
Carlos Sainz’s day was complicated by a hydraulic issue during FP1, which left him without power steering. The Maranello team’s technicians intervened on his car, managing to get him back on track during the session, limiting the time lost. “It was a tough day for us; we expected to be more competitive. But for one reason or another, we couldn’t find the balance, especially for a single lap. We struggled a lot with rear grip, and that’s the area we need to focus on the most. The soft tire is very delicate and overheats quickly, causing difficulties. We’ll see if we can improve our qualifying pace. The feeling is that we’ll all be close; it will be a tough battle in Q1, Q2, and Q3.”
Carlos Sainz didn’t take to the track on Thursday due to a minor indisposition. The Spaniard confirmed that he feels generally well, although not yet at 100%, but the situation should improve for the rest of the weekend. “Today, perhaps I wasn’t at 100%, but I still felt fine.”
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