A solid start
After the first day of free practice for the Australian Grand Prix, Ferrari confirmed the feeling of solidity seen in the pre-season, so much so that team principal Frederic Vasseur spoke of the Melbourne Friday as “a good starting point“.
A first verdict on the real competitiveness of the SF-26 will come tomorrow, with qualifying scheduled for 06:00 Italian time.
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Australia FP, Diego Ioverno’s analysis
Speaking to F1, Ferrari sporting director Diego Ioverno commented on the Australian practice sessions, which saw Hamilton and Leclerc finish in fourth and fifth place respectively: “I think it was a solid day. We didn’t encounter any major problems, we almost managed to complete the planned runs. There is a lot to do and many data to analyze, but it was a solid day. The drivers found this day intense, very challenging and with many things to learn. They completed the runs, so they are satisfied with the day, but there is a long road ahead of us to continue analyzing and trying to improve for tomorrow.”
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Ioverno then added: “Because of traffic we didn’t quite do everything we would have liked, but it’s difficult for everyone to have a clean run,” while still keeping the low profile already seen at Ferrari throughout the winter: “Are we happy? We are satisfied with today’s work. For happiness, we wait. It will be a long weekend and a long season. I hope there will be time to be happy, but now we must be focused.”
