Leclerc Asserts There Is 'Lot Of Things To Fix' Despite Surprising Red Bull With His Speed
F1Friday, 05 April 2024 at 16:30
Charles Leclerc suggested Ferrari has "plenty" to learn and to work on going into the last practice session ahead of the qualifying for the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday.
Ferrari drivers came into Japan trying to lower their own expectations after excellent results during the most recent race at Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, where they scored a one-two.
Considering the characteristics of the Suzuka Circuit, the track was expected to suit Red Bull much more than the Maranello team.
However, Ferrari still wants to come as close as possible to Red Bull, and the pace of Charles Leclerc during his long-run simulations in FP1 surprised Helmut Marko, who stated that the Monegasque "was really fast."
What is even more encouraging for Ferrari fans is that the 26-year-old apparently feels there still is much more to improve going into the last practice session ahead of the qualifying, as he told Sky Sports:
"There is still plenty to learn, and we still have quite a lot of things to try, but we've got FP3, hopefully tomorrow if there's no rain."
Leclerc emphasized "no rain" because he only completed one lap in the last minute of the FP2 session. The track was damp during the second practice, and many teams opted not to run their cars.
Even the teams that ran their cars on the wet track got almost zero learnings, which would be useful going into the race on Sunday as it is now expected it shouldn't rain. Leclerc added:
"There, we'll be able to test things that are still on hold because FP1 is short, especially because you do only the first run, and the track is very green. It's very slippery, so you cannot really learn anything from that first run."
"And then you go on the soft, but we only got one or two laps, so very little running and still a lot of questions to answer and things to fix before qualifying."
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