Leclerc not worried about Ferrari's one-lap problems

Friday’s session for Ferrari at the revamped Abu Dhabi track was somewhat disappointing. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz failed to shine in the fight with the other teams in the middle of the pack, finishing in both the first and second free practice sessions with the eighth and ninth fastest times.

The situation at Yas Marina is worrying for the Maranello team, as the good pace of the Alpines, who were faster on soft tyres, is confirmed.

If in the last appointment in Jeddah it was Esteban Ocon who surprised with a fourth place, the result of a crazy race, today, the French team got a good time with Fernando Alonso, although he was eliminated for exceeding the track limits.

The Spaniard finished Free Practice 2 with the fifth fastest time, while Ocon finished between the two Mercedes, in second position thanks to his time of 1:24.034.

However, after getting out of the car, Charles Leclerc did not seem particularly worried . The Monegasque, who set the eighth fastest time with a 1m24.557s, said he was satisfied with his race pace, although he admitted he still needed to test the qualifying simulation further.

“Overall it was a good day. There is still work to do and we need to pick up the pace, especially on the fastest lap, but we are getting all the elements together. I have to say though, the long runs were very solid so I don’t see why we shouldn’t be just as competitive in qualifying.”

During the two sessions, Leclerc was eight tenths slower than the leader of each session, but the Monegasque didn’t mind that.

“I’m not surprised. Also, we don’t focus on that gap, because when qualifying comes around they will put everything in and the gap will be different. We don’t fight with them,” explained the Ferrari driver.

“We just focused on ourselves, and I have to say it was a positive day, especially in terms of race pace. Now, we have to lay the groundwork for tomorrow and have a great day.”

Leclerc finally gave his opinion on the new Yas Marina layout, saying he was excited about the new turn 9.

“I really liked the track and I think it will be easier to overtake. Turn 9 is now much more fun, although I preferred the old turns 5, 6 and 7. But I think the new layout of turn 5 will benefit overtaking and that’s good”.