Charles Leclerc reckons Ferrari’s positive pace in practice for Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix has provided the team with its “best shot” to beat Red Bull this season.
Leclerc wound up fourth in the opening practice session at Albert Park, 0.035s down on Lando Norris, but surged almost four-tenths clear of Max Verstappen in FP2.
Ferrari has sustained a positive beginning to the latest season with its overhauled car concept, as Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz have taken a third place apiece.
The SF-24 has eradicated the wind-sensitive limitations of its capricious predecessor and Leclerc was enthused with the handling of his car from the outset in Melbourne.
“It feels good for now. We’ve had a positive day from the first laps in FP1 to the end of FP2, so that’s a good start,” Leclerc said.
“However, we need to keep working very hard because I’m sure that we’ll see some surprises tomorrow and there’s no reason for us to be a bit in front compared to everyone else tomorrow as well, so there is still margin to improve in some things, our race run was pretty good which is encouraging but let’s see.”
Red Bull has remained the benchmark with consecutive 1-2 finishes, prompting Leclerc to rebuff Norris’ notion ahead of the weekend that Ferrari could be a challenger.
Although he still believes Red Bull’s RB20 has the measure of the competition, Leclerc is optimistic that Ferrari’s encouraging practice pace could present opportunities.
“I will say that we are in a better position than the first two races, however, Red Bull weren’t pushing yet, so we’ve got to wait and see where their potential is at,” he assessed.
“I think they are still ahead but we might have our best shot this weekend from the beginning of the season.”
The consensus from the nascent races is that Ferrari has succeeded in the aim to translate its searing one-lap speed into more consistent race pace showings in 2024.
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko noted that Leclerc’s race run in FP2 was “remarkable”, but the Monegasque cautioned that some teams didn’t get clear runs.
“The race pace is quite strong but, again, it’s very difficult to compare because some drivers had a lot of traffic we had relatively clean laps, but it looked quite good,” he added.
“So better that it looks good on Friday than the other way around. So it’s a good start but we still need to keep pushing and see what’s possible.”
Leclerc was one of several drivers who encountered moments during practice, getting crossed up at Turn 1 and skittling across the grass run-off in the closing stages.
“Everything is very tricky,” he revealed. “It’s a very challenging track with quite high kerbs and the wind as well.
“And there’s also only one line whenever you get a bit offline then you lose a lot of grip, so it makes it a challenge,
“But we are fast, so we are enjoying it, but we need to wait and see tomorrow if we are fast.”
