“We’ve got to wait,” Charles Leclerc claims Red Bull could still be ahead of Ferrari despite promising FP2 pace at the Australian GP

Charles Leclerc downplayed Ferrari's chances of winning the Australian GP, indicating that Max Verstappen and Red Bull potentially hid the true pace of the RB20.


“We’ve got to wait,” Charles Leclerc claims Red Bull could still be ahead of Ferrari despite promising FP2 pace at the Australian GP

Charles Leclerc [L] Max Verstappen [R] (images via IMAGO)

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari have failed to match Max Verstappen and Red Bull in F1’s ground-effect era. However, the Scuderia made significant progress over the winter to potentially topple the reigning world champions this season. Now, the Monegasque driver has raised caution about his team’s chances against Verstappen despite having a decent outing at Albert Park.

Leclerc topped the timing sheets in the second practice session on Friday. However, Max Verstappen lost twenty minutes of running as he damaged his floor in FP1. Nevertheless, Maranello seem to have decent pace this weekend. Sergio Perez claimed that Ferrari could pose a challenge for Milton Keynes this weekend.

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Charles Leclerc admitted that the feeling within the team was positive after two decent sessions on Friday. However, the Monegasque driver warned his team over surprises that could ruin their weekend, potentially referring at Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s pace in Qualifying.

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It feels good for now, we've had a positive day, from the first laps in FP1 to the end of FP2, so it is a good start. However, we need to keep working very hard because I am sure that we'll see some surprises.
Charles Leclerc said, as reported by RacingNews365

The Ferrari driver claimed that the Italian team was in a much better position to challenge Verstappen so far this season. Although, Charles Leclerc reckoned that the reigning world champions might be hiding their true pace. The Monegasque mentioned that his team needed to wait to see the true potential of Red Bull RB-20 this weekend.

I will say that we are in a better position [to fight Red Bull] than in the first two races, however, Red Bull was not pushing, so we've got to wait and see where its potential is at, but I think they are still ahead.

Charles Leclerc claims Australian GP might be the “best shot” for Ferrari to win a race

Max Verstappen took two dominant race wins in the opening two rounds of the 2024 season. The three-time world champion led by a massive gap to the rest of the pack in both races. However, things are expected to be closer at the Australian GP after Charles Leclerc showed some promising pace behind the wheel of the SF24.

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc
Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)

Leclerc claimed that the Melbourne race could be the best shot for the Scuderia to finally win a race this season. However, the Monegasque driver admitted that it was difficult to compare the true pace of the two teams due to traffic during the practice sessions.

We have our best shot this weekend from the beginning of the season. It is very difficult to compare because some drivers had a lot of traffic [on the race runs], and we had relatively clean laps, but it looked quite good.

Certainly, Charles Leclerc would be looking to win the Australian GP. The Monegasque driver last won the 2022 Austrian GP. Nevertheless, the 26-year-old remains determined of bringing glory back to Maranello. Fans would be looking forward to seeing how things pan out for the Scuderia against Max Verstappen and Red Bull this weekend.

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