Ferrari set the pace on Friday at Sepang in Malaysia with Charles Leclerc, while Lewis Hamilton described an encouraging opening day in which the Maranello team experimented with different setup directions to gather as much data as possible during an unfamiliar weekend.
The promising performance came as Ferrari worked to understand how best to exploit the SF-26 around Sepang. Charles Leclerc’s Friday performance put the team at the top of the timesheets, while Lewis Hamilton focused on exploring alternative solutions before attention turns to qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton explains Ferrari’s Sepang setup experiments
“Overall, it was a challenging day, with very little grip on track,” said Lewis Hamilton. “Finding the right balance was not easy, but I think it was a common theme for everyone. Across the two sessions, we explored a couple of different directions in terms of setup, and now the focus will be on analysing the data to identify the best compromise.”
The work carried out across Friday’s two sessions will now be assessed before Ferrari commits to its qualifying configuration. Readers can also explore the team’s broader trends through the F1 Practice & Long-Run Analysis, while the latest developments involving the seven-time world champion are available in the Lewis Hamilton Ferrari news archive.
Ferrari not far from the leading pace
Lewis Hamilton also believes Ferrari’s underlying performance leaves the team within reach of the fastest cars, although further work will be required before qualifying.
“We don’t seem too far off the pace of the front-runners,” added Lewis Hamilton, “but we know there is still some work to do to put the car in a position to perform at its best in tomorrow’s qualifying.”
Ferrari’s strong Friday was led by Charles Leclerc, with the Monegasque setting the benchmark at Sepang. The latest updates on his performances and season can be followed in the Charles Leclerc Ferrari news archive.
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