Mercedes scares Leclerc: “They are really very strong, more than I would have liked”

Silver Arrows on top

Charles Leclerc had also anticipated this to the microphones of Sky Sport F1: “Mercedes seems ahead, we are the second-third force”. The Ferrari driver, however, still had no idea what the gap was, in terms of performance, between the silver arrows and the rest of the field. Something more about this gap was learned during FP2, not so much in the qualifying simulation – where Mercedes and Ferrari recorded quite close performances – but rather in the race pace simulation. That is the real aspect that seems to scare Leclerc, as #16 himself confessed speaking to the microphones of the official F1 channel. Even body language betrayed, on the part of the Ferrari driver, a certain concern.

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Gap to close

“FP1 looked positive – began Leclerc, who in the first official session of the year had been the fastest of all with a half-second advantage over teammate Lewis Hamilton, 2nd – but then in FP2 I think the teams started to show a little more bit by bit and unfortunately we seem to be on the backfoot, especially compared to Mercedes which seems to be really very strong“.

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“I don’t think they showed everything they have with low fuel – the Ferrari driver warned again – but with high fuel they were really impressive. It’s probably the first time we see how much they are worth and they are a bit stronger than I would have liked, but that’s how things are. On the other hand, it was a rather positive start to the weekend and we will continue to work hard to try to maximize everything for tomorrow”, Leclerc concluded.

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