Friday in Bahrain concludes the three-day Formula 1 pre-season testing session: in the afternoon, Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc fits the C4 tire and tries a flying lap without making an impression, but Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has the explanation.
In the Friday afternoon session in Sakhir – the last day of pre-season testing – Charles Leclerc took over Carlos Sainz‘s seat on the SF-24 single-seater. Before the long run, the Monegasque driver took to the track with C4 tires. The C4 is the softest compound – after the C5 – on the C1 to C5 scale.
Despite the stopwatch not being the undisputed referee of the tests, with this compound, the Maranello team’s driver did not impress. The time of 1:30.3 is nothing special, remaining quite distant from the time set by Carlos Sainz with the same tire on Thursday (1:29.9). The comparison with Max Verstappen was also not the best, with the Dutchman slower than Charles Leclerc but by only 4 tenths and with two harder compounds.
The use of the C4 compound is not very indicative in the hot Bahrain conditions and the C4 compound will not be used during the Sakhir race weekend. In the first Grand Prix of the 2024 Formula One season, the compounds available to the drivers will be C1, C2, and C3.
Why did Charles Leclerc take to the track with a “useless” tire compound? Team principal Fred Vasseur explained the reason for the work done by the Monegasque: “We do this because I think it’s a good exercise. I know it won’t be relevant for this track, but it’s a good exercise for the drivers.” – the French manager pointed out –
“It’s important for the drivers to understand how the tires work on a flying lap,” continued the Ferrari team boss – “Having 30 sets, it would have been stupid not to use one like this.” – the French manager concluded.
Source: f1ingenerale
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