Fresh from the bitter-sweet outcome in Monte Carlo, where Scuderia Ferrari scored its best seasonal performances of the SF21, the Maranello team also started the weekend in Baku on the right foot. In fact, the Italian side was the best after Red Bull in the two free practice sessions held today at the Azerbaijan circuit.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished second and third in the morning and third and fourth in the afternoon. A result even better than the expectations of many experts.
Interviewed by Sky Sport F1 , the Ferrari sporting director, Laurent Mekies, did not appear so surprised by the good performance of his team. Inevitably, however, the goals for Saturday and Sunday, compared to the Monte Carlo weekend, are different: “Surprised? No. We know that it is not Monaco here and that therefore we are not in a position to aim for pole or to beat Red Bull. So let’s get back to the reality of trying to be the best in the middle of the pack. This has been our focus today ” . Going into detail, the French executive also explained how Ferrari is trying to work on its main weakness: top speed.
The choice of top speed here is one of the main themes, so we did several ‘scans’ of rear wings – commented Mekies – we ran a different configuration this afternoon and the drivers adapted well. Charles and Carlos proved to be very smart and responsive on this type of city track. The team is as concentrated as it was in Monaco . The overall result is different due to the long straights ” . Compared to the Principality, however, in Baku there will be much more chances to overtake in the race: “ The tire parameter will play an important role here. There is no longer just the qualifying like two weeks ago. We are preparing to make some improvements in that area as well.” – Laurent Mekies added.
The only negative note of the day was Charles Leclerc’s mistake in turn 15 , which damaged the front wing. The Maranello sports director, however, excludes psychological repercussions on the Monegasque after the mistake made in Q3 at Monte-Carlo. “ Does the Leclerc mistake in Monaco undermine his confidence? It doesn’t have to be that way. He had a very good session. These kind of things happen – Mekies concluded – He looks for the limit and we want him to keep looking for the limit . We don’t want him to be influenced by Monaci or by what happened two years ago here. He is here for this. To search for the car’s limit. We are confident that this will help him to be at his best in qualifying ” – Laurent Mekies added.
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