The first practice day of the season is in the books, and the verdict is that Ferrari, at least based on today’s evidence, does not seem too far from the top and from McLaren, which had emerged as the benchmark for the rest of the grid during testing.
After pre-season testing in Bahrain, where the Maranello team focused more on understanding the car rather than outright performance to determine the optimal working window, Ferrari arrived in Melbourne with a car that had clearly improved in setup, giving immediate confidence to Charles Leclerc.
The Monegasque driver, albeit with a hint of caution, stated that he is aiming for pole position on Saturday in Australia, though there remains a certain degree of prudence, as temperatures will change tomorrow, along with grip levels. Being a street circuit, the track is typically very dirty on Friday and then gradually improves throughout the weekend.
This aspect was also mentioned by Frederic Vasseur at the end of the first day, highlighting how crucial it will be to predict track evolution as accurately as possible. Nonetheless, the words of the Maranello Team Principal convey a sense of optimism for the rest of the weekend.
“Today went well. What’s peculiar about Melbourne is that on the first day, the track is very dirty, and grip increases over the weekend, so we always have to think ahead to the next session rather than looking back too much. We are focused on tomorrow; it will be much hotter, and there may even be rain on Sunday, but for now, everything is fine,” the Frenchman told Sky Italia.
On Friday, the Scuderia appeared slightly more competitive on a single lap than in race pace, where McLaren maintained a small advantage over the Maranello team, although both stints were partially affected by traffic. However, Fred Vasseur believes Ferrari is on the right track in both areas and that the key differentiator will be the teams’ ability to predict changing track conditions.
“We are in good shape in both situations, both on a single lap and in race pace, but the most important thing this weekend will be adapting to the conditions. Tomorrow, adapting to the increased grip will be key, and it will be hotter, while Sunday’s conditions are uncertain, so we need to anticipate the grip levels.” – the French manager pointed out.
Some drivers struggled with managing the soft tire on a single lap. While the softer compound provides an estimated half-second improvement in grip, according to Pirelli, it is also more challenging to handle and prone to overheating issues.
“That’s true, but the gap between the soft and medium tires is not huge, and managing the temperature on softs is very difficult. The approach can be different; with the medium, you can do more laps and get used to it, while with the soft, you have to get into rhythm immediately. Tomorrow, the situation could change, especially if the track has more grip. But for us, today went well; we just need to predict how grip and track conditions will evolve tomorrow.” – the Ferrari team boss concluded.
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