Charles Leclerc: “We will put all our energy in making further steps forward”

Charles Leclerc feels Scuderia Ferrari are working in the right direction when it comes to getting their SF23 in a better set-up window, although so far this weekend at Albert Park, their rivals seem to have the advantage.

Leclerc ended fifth fastest in the opening session of the Australian Grand Prix weekend and was an encouraging second fastest in the rain disrupted second session, although times in that session were less representative due to the weather changing less than a quarter of the way through.

Nevertheless, the Monegasque driver believes it was a productive day in Melbourne, and all signs are good that they can begin to fight back against their closest rivals after a relatively underwhelming start to the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

“We explored quite a few set-up variations today, which was interesting as it felt like we were going in a right direction,” said Leclerc.  “That doesn’t mean that we have the same pace as our competitors, as they still seem to have the upper hand for now.

“There is still a lot of work to do before we can get back in a proper fight but we will put all our energy in making further steps forward.”

“We are pushing hard to maximise everything” – Carlos Sainz Jr.

Team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr. felt his Friday was compromised due to the weather, and like Leclerc, his first session was used to find a better feeling and understanding with Ferrari’s 2023 machine.

Sainz ended sixth fastest in the opening running and fifth in the second, but the rain prevented any meaningful running and saw the Spaniard stay in the pits for long periods of time.

Looking ahead to the rest of the weekend, the one-time race winner says Ferrari will be pushing as hard as they can to maximise their potential and score as many points as possible.

“This Friday was a bit compromised by the rain in FP2, so we decided not to do many laps in the rain, choosing instead to start preparing everything for tomorrow,” said Sainz.  “On the other hand, FP1 was very useful for the team.

“We went through very different set-up configurations trying to improve the feeling with the car and to get to understand the current package a bit more. We are pushing hard to maximise everything and I look forward to the rest of the weekend.”