Charles Leclerc gives verdict on “not too bad” Friday practice sessions in Jeddah | 2023 Saudi Arabian GP. Charles on "not too bad" Friday practice sessions.

Ferrari, Charles Leclerc looking for improved race pace in Jeddah
Charles Leclerc’s ninth place in the second free practice session for the 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche circuit certainly didn’t help calm the Ferrari fans, who were already alarmed after the technical failures seen in Bahrain two weeks ago.

However, the Monegasque was very calm when commenting the Friday practice session in Saudi Arabia, believing that the SF-23 provided positive feedback both on the flying lap and in terms of race pace. Having to serve a ten-place grid penalty at the start of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the pace was the key focus on Friday for the Monegasque driver, who in the second free practice session showed a pace on the soft and medium tyres that was certainly better as compared to what we saw in Bahrain, even if not still at the level of Red Bull or even Aston Martin.

Charles Leclerc’s comments
“I don’t think it went too bad. The driving feeling is good, but it’s difficult to understand today’s performance well. Everyone did different things in terms of power, weight and so on. Reading today’s data is probably even more difficult than in Bahrain. The race pace seems better than in Sakhir, and that’s positive. If I am worried about the engine? No, those team radio messages were nothing much. At times I downshifted a few gears and that didn’t put the engine in the best position, but everything was fine. That’s good, also because we tested some new parts today and they worked as expected. However, it is difficult to get an idea of our competitiveness as all teams had different programmes. The feeling with the car up to this point is good. Tomorrow we’ll try to get the most out of qualifying but, having to serve a ten-place penalty on the grid, we’ll focus mainly on the race and how to make up positions on Sunday” – Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc concluded at the end of Friday practice.

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