Leclerc addresses Ferrari’s true pace after dominant Bahrain showing

11:01, 21 Feb

Updated: 13:43, 21 Feb

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byTobia Elia

Charles Leclerc reflected on the Bahrain tests after setting the fastest lap across all six days of running.

“In terms of performance, it’s still difficult to understand where we really stand because teams are hiding their true form”

- Charles Leclerc

Leclerc sums up SF-26 after setting benchmark pace in Bahrain tests

The Monegasque completed a series of qualifying-style runs during the final two hours of day three, gradually lowering his benchmark to a 1:31.992 — the only lap below the 1:32 barrier — finishing eight tenths clear of the second-fastest time set by Kimi Antonelli the previous day.

Added to that was the impressive reliability of Ferrari’s new power unit and an SF-26 that appears to have started on the right foot, although Melbourne will ultimately be needed to gain a clear picture of the true pecking order.

“The test day was very smooth, we ran through our programme and tested all the things we planned to,” Leclerc said at the end of day 3.

“In terms of performance, it’s still difficult to understand where we really stand because teams are hiding their true form, so it’s important not to focus too much on lap times and prepare for the first race.

Photo: Race Pictures

“We will build step by step and try to understand how to extract the maximum from our car, we have a lot of data to analyse before we arrive in Melbourne and we will see how things go once we are there.”

Ferrari shocks rivals in Bahrain with phenomenal rear wing design

Ferrari unveiled an innovative rear wing solution during the second day of testing in Bahrain, catching the attention of rival teams thanks to the way the element rotates when straight-line mode is activated.

Engineers in Maranello developed a design featuring actuators no longer positioned at the centre of the mainplane, as traditionally seen, but instead integrated into the rear wing endplates with two separate mechanisms. The solution was only run during the morning session and has not been seen again so far.

Read the full story here.