Ferrari’s Friday in Saudi Arabia went largely smoothly until Charles Leclerc ended FP2 in a high-speed crash against the barriers at Turn 23. The Monegasque racer said he was keen to make up for it with a solid qualifying performance for the team as Carlos Sainz looked forward to a midfield hand-to-hand fight in Jeddah.
Fortunately, Leclerc walked away from the accident that ended his Friday run prematurely; with about five minutes remaining in FP2, he spun on Turn 22 and hit the barriers on Turn 23 with the rear and right of his Ferrari. He made an apologetic figure after leaving the medical center.
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“Yes, a day that unfortunately didn’t go the way I wanted it to, but overall we went through everything we wanted to test,” said Leclerc. “I think the potential is here and if we put everything together for tomorrow we should have a good day.
“But of course I’m sorry for the team that has to do a great, great job before tomorrow to get the car ready, and I hope I’ll do a good job of thanking them in the best possible way good result tomorrow, ”he guessed.
2021 Saudi Arabia GP FP2: Leclerc leaves the huge shunt in Jeddah
While Leclerc finished seventh and tenth in the respective sessions, teammate Sainz finished P6 and then P7. The Spaniard was “relatively confident” as the Scuderia wants to consolidate P3 in the constructors’ championship this weekend, but pointed out three other teams that could cause problems for Ferrari.
“I feel relatively safe,” he said. “I built up well over the day, you know, I got up to speed little by little, and the pace was there all day. Just try different mixtures, different amounts of fuel [and] We have to analyze who is in front and who is behind.
“But right now it looks like another very close battle with AlphaTauri, Alpine … and McLaren and us. So it looks like it could be a very close fight from five back to back like it was in Qatar, ”he said.
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Carlos Sainz: Jeddah Corniche Circuit is all about thrills and adrenaline
Sainz added that the Jeddah Corniche Circuit reminded him of Macau – the prestigious urban circuit where Sainz won the 2010 Formula BMW Pacific season finale.
“It’s different, very different from anything I’ve driven before, to be honest,” he recalled. “The intensity this track gives you, the thrill and adrenaline is something I haven’t experienced since my days in Macau.
“So yes, very different, very intense, very fast, very close to the walls. I kept trying to get the turning points right before brushing the inside of the wall. It’s pretty crazy out there, but it looks like everyone was safe today and hopefully we can keep it that way until tomorrow and Sunday. “
