Leclerc and Ferrari are marking their test territory

Share This Post

- Advertisement -

The Leclerc-Verstappen rivalry seems to be fulfilling its promises in Australia: if Ferrari dominates the first two free practice sessions of the Grand Prix on Friday, it will once again have to watch out for Max Verstappen in its rear-view mirror, who are determined to come and reach the F1 championship.

- Advertisement -

For the first day on the slightly modified Albert Park route to Melbourne – promising more action – the best time went to Monegasque Charles Leclerc in 1 min 18 s 978/1000, 0.245 s before his rival announced for this season, reigning world champion Verstappen (Red bull).

- Advertisement -

He was also ahead in 0.398s with his Ferrari teammate, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr., who first got his first time in free practice 1 before being overtaken in free practice 2.

However, confidence is not for Monegasque Leclerc: today is a bit harder Friday (…) much more work to dosaid the current leader.

These results, however, confirm the good form of Scuderia, at the top of the constructors ’classification, which has set aside 2021 to focus on preparing for 2022.

Prior to this Australian round, the 3rd of the season, Leclerc (45 points) and Sainz (33) were ahead of Verstappen (25) in the overall classification.

But the Dutchman, who won his last race in Saudi Arabia at the end of March, remains extremely confident: we’re still a bit behind the Ferrari, but I think this weekend we can get a little closer (…) We’re going in a good direction.

Behind the trio, Fernando Alonso gave Alpine the 4th fastest time, 0.559s behind Leclerc. Then follow Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) and French Esteban Ocon (Alpine).

On the whole (it was) a very positive day for the team where both cars finished in the top 10 in both free training sessions. But we know that everyone will play tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday and we can already see that it will be as tight as in Bahrain and Jeddah.comment by pilot Normand.

Behind, British Mercedes Lewis Hamilton and George Russell scored only 7th and 12th time in free practice 1.

And things didn’t get much better in the second session: if the team’s reigning world champion constructors ’drivers improved in their respective times, Hamilton would have dropped to a very modest 13th spot, behind Russell , 11th.

At the start of the season, the team struggled to manage its single-seater using original aerodynamics.

It’s frustrating because we always give, and even though our lap is good, if you look at the times, we’re more than a second late. We have a lot to do to close the gaprecognized seven -time world champion.

This third round also marked the entry into the track of quadruple champion (2010-2013 with Red Bull) Sebastian Vettel, who was affected by COVID-19 and did not make it into the first two.

But the German was forced to enter the pits prematurely in the first session, due to a mechanical problem that also caused him to miss the second session.

The positives were I quickly became comfortable and we also had good balance in the car. It’s a shame, however, not to have made more lapshe explained.

And to make sure: The car is ready tomorrow (Saturday) and we will continue to work and improve.

However, the Aston Martin driver is currently under investigation by the FIA ​​for unauthorized use of the scooter on the track : saw him scooter around the circuit to return to the paddock, after the first training session, waving to the spectators.

Source: Radio-Canada

- Advertisement -

Related Posts

Israel bombs Aleppo in Syria, causing more than 40 deaths

At least 42 Syrian soldiers and fighters from the...

What are the benefits of papaya and flaxseed smoothie?

There are some combinations of vegetables and seeds that...

All the shadows of ISIS-K and the broken narrative of Vladimir Putin

Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin not necessarily improvise when he...