Leclerc encouraged by Ferrari's pace in long stints

The red was put on this Friday of the German Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel et Charles Leclerc indeed took turns at the top of the timesheet on this opening day in Baden-Württemberg. 

After 180 minutes of driving in the scorching temperatures that the SF90 is fond of, the Monegasque finished with a time of 1'13''449 and ahead of his quadruple world champion teammate by 0''124. Beyond his speed on a flying lap, Leclerc also gives a positive assessment of the performance of the red cars on the long stints. 

« The feeling behind the wheel is good, reported the former champion of Formula 2. I expect that Mercedes or there in qualifying when they put everything in order. We often saw them a little behind on Friday and they always showed up on Saturday when it mattered. They hide their game a little.

What is very positive is our racing pace on the long relays. I hope that these good trends will be confirmed over the rest of the weekend. Temperatures will drop over the rest of the weekend so we will have to adapt to these changing conditions. If we had the choice, we would opt for good weather and warmth but if it rains, it rains for everyone ».

After several complicated weekends, his neighbor in the garage looked more cheerful when debriefing his working day, also marked by a better time in FP1.

« I'm quite happy with the work accomplished today, said Vettel. We had two or three setbacks, like a flat spot on a medium tire in the afternoon, but nothing too bad. We still have room to go even faster. Afterwards, I don't know to what extent Mercedes and Red Bull had to make compromises to cope with the extreme heat ».

Suffice to say that we will not find anyone in the clan of the Team ready to do the rain dance...