Leclerc names the F1 rival that caught his eye: ‘They are standing out this weekend’

The Monegasque set the fastest time of the day, edging Isack Hadjar and Lando Norris to top the timesheets and showcasing strong one-lap pace on the soft tyres. His long-run performance was equally encouraging, with Leclerc’s pace broadly in line with Max Verstappen’s race simulation, although the Dutchman completed significantly more laps on the medium compound.

Speaking at the end of the day, the Ferrari driver highlighted how difficult the conditions have been throughout Friday, with a dirty and slippery track making it particularly challenging to find the right balance. Leclerc also expects the competitive picture to change significantly between Friday and Saturday as the track evolves and grip levels improve.

“Everybody is very close, and it's been a very, very difficult day overall. The track conditions were very, very tricky. The track was quite dirty actually and very slippery. So I think things will change and evolve a lot from today to tomorrow. And we've got to be on the good side of things, anticipating that in the best possible way.”

Despite feeling relatively comfortable with the car, the Monegasque was not convinced Ferrari has shown the strongest package. Leclerc pointed to Red Bull as the standout team so far, noting that Verstappen did not complete his qualifying simulation on the soft tyres. He therefore believes Ferrari may not be the most competitive team at this stage, while Mercedes remains difficult to assess.

The Brit described Ferrari’s opening day at Sepang as a challenging one, with the lack of grip making it difficult to find the right balance with the car. The seven-time world champion noted that this was an issue shared across the field, while Ferrari used both sessions to explore different set-up directions in an attempt to find the most effective configuration.

With Friday now complete, Hamilton explained that the focus will shift towards analysing the data gathered from the two sessions and finding the right compromise for the remainder of the weekend. Despite the difficulties, the Briton believes Ferrari is not too far away from the pace, although he acknowledged that further work is still required to put the car in a stronger position for tomorrow.