Friday’s Australian Grand Prix ended with Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari in first position. He finished 0.381 ahead of Max Verstappen’s RB20. Carlos Sainz confirmed the team’s strong Friday, finishing just five hundredths behind the reigning champion.
The two Aston Martins were behind, with Stroll ahead of Alonso, Russell’s Mercedes, and Piastri’s Mclaren, all within three tenths. It was a disappointing Friday for Checo Perez, who only managed eighth.
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, suffered due to poor set-up from FP1 and FP2 – falling down the order and finishing 1.5 seconds from the top.
IT WILL BE IMPORTANT FOR FERRARI TO CAPITALISE ON TRACK EVOLUTION
Australia FP2 was the most encouraging session for Ferrari of 2024 so far. The SF-24 was well-balanced from its first laps on the track, again confirming the effectiveness of Ferrari’s simulator.
However, it will be very important for the personnel at Maranello to capitalise on the ever-important track evolution in Australia. It is no coincidence that both Leclerc and Vasseur highlighted this:
“In Melbourne, with the evolution of the track, each day is different and tomorrow morning we start from scratch for qualifying,” said the French team principal.
RED BULL LOSES ESPECIALLY AT SLOW SPEEDS AGAINST THE SF-24
Certainly, the SF-24 seen today, especially in the hands of Charles Leclerc, must be considered the favourite for tomorrow’s pole position.
“We are in a better position than in the first two races, but Red Bull hasn’t pushed yet.
“So we have to wait and see what their potential will be, but I think this weekend we could have our best chance since the start of the season,” said the Monegasque.
Red Bull’s Helmut Marko immediately pointed out that Ferrari used a higher engine mapping today.
However, the most important gap between the RB20 and the SF-24 is to be found in the slow corners, where Red Bull was fifth-fastest in the low-speed corners.
Red Bull was on the same level as Mercedes in these sections but behind McLaren and Aston Martin.
Of the almost 4-tenths gap between Verstappen and Leclerc, the Dutchman loses 2 in Turn 3 and another in the ramp at Turn 13.
“I think we know what we need to focus on and we have some things to fine-tune,” said the three-time world champion. The Dutchman remains quite positive about his prospects.
The RB20’s setup was far from optimised. Perhaps the best example of this was the ‘strange’ bouncing that occurred between turns 8 and 9.
