Charles Leclerc may have finished 2nd free practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix on a relatively low P12. But the Monegasque said he was encouraged by a strong opening day for Ferrari as they look to rebuild this year after a busy 2020.
Ferrari managed to get at least one driver into the top 5 in both free practice sessions on Friday: Leclerc finished fifth in Free Practice 1, 0.599 seconds behind Red Bulls Max Verstappen – while his new team-mate Carlos Sainz in FP2 was an impressive P4 got caught between Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and Valtteri Bottas, and the Spaniard also got P8 in FP1 on his first Friday with the team.
READ MORE: “Now we have to show what we can do in qualifying,” says Verstappen after the top practice session on Friday
And Leclerc – who only finished 12th in the hard-fought session.
“Today was a positive day to be honest,” said Leclerc. “We may not have expected to be so competitive, even if it is still at the very beginning. But FP1 was positive on my side, FP2 a little less; I struggled with the car a bit here and there and didn’t manage to finish the lap I wanted.
Leclerc finished P5 in FP1
“But overall there is a lot of work [that’s been done]. I feel that the team is very motivated and I can also see and feel the improvements that have been made since last year, which is good for now. Then tomorrow is the day when we know exactly where we stand in comparison to the others.
“It’s very, very close and I think tomorrow’s qualifying will be very, very close,” added Leclerc, “but that’s exciting, that’s what we as drivers like to try to make the final difference on the To make the route – even “Although I still believe that Mercedes and Red Bull are still very far ahead, the midfield will be very, very tight.”
FP2: Verstappen leads Norris to clean up Friday sessions in Bahrain
Sainz did Ferrari’s best lap of the day in Free Practice 2 – but the Scuderia newcomer admitted he was still getting going in the Ferrari SF21, especially when it came to adapting to changes in wind direction and track conditions .
“It’s tricky,” said Sainz at the end of Friday. “You have to stay mentally disciplined because you don’t want to make too many comments about balance, because you know you are probably understating a little too.
Carlos Sainz needs to build “confidence” in Ferrari cars
“When you switch teams and cars, you don’t know how the car will react as soon as conditions change and you always run a little under. You don’t want to make silly mistakes and stay a little under the car’s limit because you don’t know how the car is going to react.
“That’s why I always say that you need racing, you need experience, you have to go through different conditions, know how the car reacts to the wind and the temperatures, and build a core, a base of experience, in order to then know how one conforms to the conditions … The trick here is to let the sessions slip by, let the experience build up, and be patient. “
READ MORE: Hamilton Says Mercedes Improved But Bottas Describes W12 As “Undrivable” On First Day Of Training In Bahrain
We’ll get a better sense of Ferrari 2021’s level of performance – including the power of their new powerplant – when the wicks are cranked for Saturday’s qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
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