Ferrari drivers left puzzled about pecking order after practice day
Ferrari racer Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz displayed encouraging pace across the opening day at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, but the two drivers are unsure about the pecking order in Belgium.
In the first hour, Leclerc and Sainz set off on Medium tyres before switching to Softs on which they set their best times of 1’44”306 and 1’44”574 respectively, which put them sixth and ninth on the time sheet.
In the last 15 minutes, they reverted to used tyres – Medium for Leclerc and Soft for Sainz – running a heavier fuel load. Charles did 25 laps, Carlos did 24, totalling 49 between them.
The second practice saw the Monegasque start out on Soft tyres, while the Spaniard opted for Mediums as the pair was running slightly different programmes. In the middle of the session, they both ran new Softs with which Leclerc set the fourth fastest time of 1’42”837 and Sainz the fifth in 1’43”098.
For the final part of the session, both SF-24s again took on a heavy fuel load to run in race trim, this time with Leclerc running the Soft tyres and Sainz went back to Mediums, completing 48 laps between them, 23 for Charles and 25 for Carlos.
Commenting on his day, Leclerc noted: "A difficult day to understand, running with various set ups and tyres, with all the teams on their own run plans.
"We don’t yet have a clear picture and with the expectation of rain tomorrow and dry conditions on Sunday, we will work to find the best compromise to extract the maximum on both days. It’s our last race before the holidays, so we will give it everything to finish it on a high."
His team-mate Sainz insisted that the resurfaced track prompted engineers and drivers to fine-tune their setup with the new surfacing having provided more grip compared to previous years.
"This year we found a very different track compared to previous years due to the new asphalt. We had to adapt the car to these new conditions and bumps, but overall the new surface provides a lot more grip.
"We need to keep an eye out for tyre degradation and race simulation was an important part of our Friday programme. Tomorrow we'll try to focus on maximising the package we have and qualify as high up as possible."
