Charles Leclerc says Ferrari had as robust begin to the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix weekend and might compete with a struggling Max Verstappen in race trim, however believes McLaren may very well be out of attain.
FP1 noticed 9 rookies collaborating and Leclerc topped the session, whereas Verstappen – who sat out the primary hour – was quickest over one lap in FP2. Leclerc believes the race tempo in comparison with Pink Bull seemed aggressive however he factors to McLaren’s excessive gas tempo as significantly robust.
“Friday was a constructive one,” Leclerc mentioned. “We’re nonetheless on the again foot in comparison with Pink Bull, particularly on low gas, and McLaren, particularly on excessive gas. No surprises there. We anticipated them to be the strongest staff coming right here, however we have accomplished fairly good laps.
“I felt fairly good with the automobile. We have simply acquired to construct from that tomorrow and hopefully we will achieve just a little bit extra efficiency.
“On the excessive gas, we had been possibly just a little bit higher in comparison with Pink Bull, however McLaren was in a league of their very own by rather a lot, so I do not know precisely what’s going on there. I hope they had been on low gas, however I do not know.
“They appear to be very robust, so for now it does not appear real looking for us to be combating with them within the race, however we’re going to attempt to make adjustments so as to be nearer to them.”
Leclerc was second in FP2 and teammate Lewis Hamilton was additionally within the high 5, however the seven-time world champion additionally wasn’t pleased with the dealing with of his automobile.
“I am stunned how comparatively shut we’re, given how not nice it felt,” Hamilton mentioned. “I imply, each time you come right here, the grip is… Due to the altitude, we’re all working fairly excessive downforce, nevertheless it feels decrease than Monza. You are sliding round, looking for grip, nevertheless it’s simply not there.
“The steadiness may be very open. I’ve acquired a variety of work to do in a single day to attempt to determine easy methods to discover a extra streamlined steadiness.
“We’ll look via the information tonight after which attempt to give you some plans, however I positively do not need to race what we had at this time. The long term steadiness wasn’t disastrous, nevertheless it’s [a matter of getting] extra from the tires. I do know there’s extra tempo within the automobile.”
Verstappen backed up Leclerc’s opinion that the Pink Bull race tempo is missing at this stage of the weekend, saying his solely energy had been on the qualifying simulation.
“A little bit of an extended watch for the day, however the quick run, I feel on the delicate, we managed to do an excellent lap,” Verstappen mentioned. “The remainder, all the pieces else was fairly unhealthy. On the medium, the quick run was not nice, and the large drawback is the lengthy runs the place we appear to battle rather a lot. That’s, after all, a giant concern for the race.
“The steadiness wasn’t even off. It was simply no grip, which that’s the greater concern. As quickly as you go on a sustainable run, tires are going scorching. Yeah, we had been nowhere. That is a troublesome one to type out as properly, however we’ll see.
“You are not going to win the race like that. You may be quick over one lap, however when you’ve got completely zero tempo within the race, then it may be very powerful. I choose to be quick within the race and never so quick over one lap.”
At McLaren, it was Lando Norris who appeared the extra snug regardless of lacking FP1, though he’s cautious of what number of different groups may very well be a menace given the preliminary low gas gaps.
“I feel we’re in an inexpensive place, for certain,” Norris mentioned. “I really feel like I acquired in control in a short time, really. I used to be fairly stunned. My first lap was fairly good, and the second lap was an excellent step.
“Felt like I discovered the restrict shortly … which is simply holding us again a bit. Not that it was a nasty day, however usually we’re superb on a Friday, after which everybody catches up on Saturday. We’re already just a little bit behind, so we now have positively some work to do tonight.
“They mounted [the power surges] immediately. It is simply the steadiness of the automobile is only a bit everywhere – similar as the previous few weeks, simply single-lap stuff. We’re struggling on the minute, so we’re working onerous. We’re attempting all the pieces we will, so we’ll see what we will do and see what we will discover.”
