Charles Leclerc has revealed that Ferrari “needs to be careful” despite posting fastest times in FP1 and FP2 at the United States Grand Prix, suggesting their improvements are not having as much impact as some might believe.
The Scuderia made changes to key aerodynamic components, including the floor, sidepod inlet and diffuser, which Lewis Hamilton said would only add “half a tenth” of performance during Thursday’s press conference.
Leclerc nevertheless managed to set the pace in the first two free practice sessions at the Circuit of the Americas, albeit by slim margins of 0.084s and 0.042s over Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli respectively.
The Monegasque was reluctant to get hopeful for the rest of the weekend, as he explained: “The feelings are pretty good but we have to be careful – it’s obviously only Friday.
“We’re seeing what we expected, but again, it’s definitely not what everyone is thinking in terms of improvement and lap times gained. It’s been a good day. I think the balance of the car was good and straight away we started in a good window. It paid off.”
“Obviously all the hard work that went into getting this upgrade done as quickly as possible also helps us a bit, but we shouldn’t have too high expectations for tomorrow. I feel like the others have more potential to unlock.”
“Kimi and Max seem to be very strong. The McLaren, I don’t really know yet. I don’t think they have everything in place, but Kimi and Max will definitely be up there.”
Although the gap between the top four teams has narrowed as the season has progressed, Ferrari has not won a race since Round 9 in Britain, and team principal Fred Vasseur was just as keen as Leclerc to remain realistic about its chances this weekend.
“It’s a good start, but I think once again it’s very close,” he said. “I’m not sure the FP1 standings have always been relevant for qualifying.
“That means we have to focus on ourselves to keep working. We have a lot to learn about the car with the new package and try to do a better job tomorrow.”
“It’s still early days. Of course, the impact (of the improvements) is a little less than at the start of the season. That means we have to fine-tune everything and try to get the best for tomorrow.”
“Let’s look at qualifying first because as soon as you get into the dirty air it’s more difficult. I think we have five or six cars that can compete for pole tomorrow. It’s good for F1 and it’s good for us if we’re up front.”
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