In the meantime, Leclerc was overtaken by both McLarens and stacked up sixth in the overall FP1 order, a quarter of a second away from his team-mate over his lap. The Monegasque hoped that he would be able to unearth a “special lap” in Saturday’s qualifying session to put his Ferrari on pole for the first time in 2024, but thought that Red Bull had the upper hand after the opening day of running. During FP1, the only dry Friday session, Melbourne winner Carlos Sainz set the best time of the Ferrari duo during a brief flurry of hot laps conducted on softs.
“I’ll try my hardest to win the pole position. This is undoubtedly the goal. However, in order to accomplish this, we must ensure that we are as ready as possible for tomorrow,” Leclerc stated.
“And right now, I still think we need to pick up a little bit of speed to go and battle for pole position because Red Bull—especially Max—seems strong.
There’s still a good deal of work to be done. However, I hope I’ll be the one to complete any exceptional laps that need to be completed.
Sainz expressed greater optimism on Ferrari’s prospects, stating that following the locking in of the first Formula One times, Ferrari had approached Red Bull more closely than anticipated.
He went on to say that Red Bull will still present a formidable challenge as usual, but he was eager to highlight the progress Ferrari had made in the Milton Keynes team’s direction since the Suzuka race the previous year.
“Honestly, it’s a bit closer to the Red Bulls than I anticipated or expected, so positive signs in terms of progress made from five months ago to now,” the Spaniard declared.
“FP1 is still clearly visible. You have no idea what engine modes or fuel loads they are operating in. It is evident that we were eight tenths off in qualifying last year and are now two tenths off.
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