The first day of track activity at Yas Marina saw both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz grappling with a car with good fast lap potential but held back by tire degradation in the race simulations. It’s not a new scenario for the Scuderia, and the weekend is still long, but after the good tire management seen at Interlagos it seemed like a step backwards.
“It was a Friday without unexpected events – commented Leclerc – and it’s been a while since we had one, so from this point of view it’s good. On the other hand, we seem to be lacking a bit of pace due to tire degradation, especially in terms of race pace, while I’d say the qualifying simulations went well”.
In view of the qualifying scheduled for tomorrow, it is not a gamble to think of a Ferrari capable of aiming for the top 3. Leclerc confirmed himself one tenth behind Russell and four behind the leader Verstappen. “Max’s last lap was very fast – confirmed Leclerc – but he also used a second set of soft tyres, so it’s difficult to make a comparison. The track is improving a lot, especially after dark, so we’ll have to wait for tomorrow to see, but I think we’ll all be closer in qualifying.”
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
The race pace worries more. The goal of second position in the Constructors’ championship can also be achieved with a defensive race on the two Mercedes, but on the condition that Red Bull (as it seems) confirms its ability to take off. The situation regarding the head-to-head between Leclerc and Sergio Perez is different, especially in light of the good long-run completed by Checo.
The evolution of the track could play in Ferrari’s favor, as always very significant on the Yas Marina track, where grip increases progressively from Friday to Sunday. There is no threat of rain around here.
Sainz Friday is different from the usual. Carlos handed over the car to Robert Shwartzman in FP1 (good session for the Israeli). “In FP2 we made a few steps forward – commented Sainz – but we still have a lot to recover in FP3 and in qualifying. Missing FP1 will allow me to recover some more pace tomorrow, but I think for qualifying everything will be okay. Red Bull seem to be back to form this weekend, their pace, and Max’s in particular, has been very fast in all conditions, and I think they will be hard to beat. But we will play it with the Mercedes”.
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