Leclerc: the SF-24 feels competitive in every condition

Although rain affected the opening day of running in Montreal, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc sounded a positive note, claiming that his SF-24 has shown an impressive performance in the changeable conditions.

It was difficult, if not impossible to assess the pecking order down pit lane, because the track was in a state of constant evolution and so it was practically impossible to make any comparisons. However, Leclerc felt that his car was competitive in the challenging conditions.

The Monegasque took a few laps to get the mediums up to temperature and on his tenth lap set an encouraging 1’16”556 which saw him take fourth in the standings.

"There was not so much to learn today, as the conditions were very different each time we went out. We put in quite a few laps throughout the day, so that was a positive.

"I’m looking forward to tomorrow and we will try to put everything together for qualifying. I mean, as much as we can in those conditions, of course. On the car, it’s very difficult to do anything because every time you go out you face a different feeling with the car.

“But all in all, I’m happy because we are very competitive in all the conditions. We were never really on top of the timesheets just because we didn’t do the time at the right time in the session with the driest track etc., but I think every lap we were doing we were very competitive, so that is a good thing," said the Monegasque.

His team-mate Carlos Sainz had a quite day on the opening day. The Spaniard ended up 13th quickest in the second session, having set the best lap time on Pirelli's yellow-banded tyres.

"A very Canadian Friday at this time of the year, with the weather changing a lot, alternating between dry and wet conditions. Despite the track changing all the time we managed to run as much as we could and put down some decent runs with both the slicks and the Intermediate compound.

"However, it’s not easy to extract many conclusions from the sessions today, so we need to focus on ourselves and be as ready as possible for tomorrow," added the Madrid-born driver.