On the first day of competition, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc set the fastest time, finishing four tenths ahead of Red Bull’s Max
Verstappen. and appears most likely to pose a threat to the dominant Red Bulls in both the Sunday race and Saturday’s qualifying.
Even though he finished half a second behind Leclerc’s best time, Carlos Sainz, who is still recuperating from his appendicitis illness,
excelled with the third-best time. However, Sainz is probably going to be included as well, in full fitness.
“Scuderia Ferrari got off to an encouraging start in the first two free practice sessions for the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park
circuit,” reads the team report from Ferrari, summarizing their Friday.
“The most crucial element is that Carlos Sainz performed exceptionally well and is totally fit.
“Today, the Spaniard gradually got back into the swing of driving the SF-24 in between the walls around the Albert Park track,
completing 48 laps, virtually a race distance, without any physical issues.
The SF-24 did well on more than one lap; in the second session, when the circuit was at its best, Charles was fastest, Carlos was third,
and the car was competitive in race trim. This is another plus. The drivers responded favorably to this, and this will now need to be
verified in tomorrow’s race and, most importantly, in Sunday’s race, the team report stated.
Leclerc wrote, “It was a solid first day, everything felt good from the start and I was comfortable in the car,” in reflection on Friday in
Melbourne. The most crucial thing for us to accomplish is to follow the path and predict the course of the evolution.
Before qualifying, we’ll concentrate on improving our balance and trying to move forward. Leclerc, who will start his 126th Formula
One race on Sunday, continued, “I expect the field to be much tighter. It looks good for now, but we have to wait and see how it will
look.”
After having appendix surgery that prevented him from traveling to Jeddah, Carlos Sainz returned to the sister vehicle to make room
for 18-year-old super-sub Oliver Beard
Regarding his “office” day, Sainz stated: “To be honest, I’m very happy I could complete both sessions feeling reasonably comfortable.
It’s been a couple of tough weeks leading up to today.” I’ll keep going step by step to make sure I’m in the best shape possible for both
qualifying and the race. I’m optimistic that everything will be better overall tomorrow, Saturday.
“The car seems to be in a good place this weekend,” continued Sainz, who finished third in the season’s first race in Bahrain but was
forced to miss his 185th Grand Prix start in Jeddah. We’ll work to optimize both the body and the machine! (Additional Phrases from
Melbourne-Based Agnes Carlier)
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