"We saw in Imola that Friday can be misleading"

Charles Leclerc can be satisfied after the first day in Portugal. The Ferrari driver clocked up a fourth and seventh time and made a reliable impression. He himself is also counting on a good weekend.

The driver noticed during practice that there were a lot of wind gusts at the track. "But we were able to run our full programme and we seem to be quite competitive," he told Speedweek. "In a fast lap we were good, in race trim a little less so. I think that's my biggest weakness this weekend. So I'll have to work on that, because the power density is so high that it comes down to making as few mistakes as possible."

Ferrari's focus is on performing during qualifying. "We saw in Imola that Friday can be deceptive when it comes to the power ratios. I think the success lies in tyre management. We need to understand how to warm them up properly and when the right moment is to set the fastest lap."

The Ferrari's have been making excellent progress in recent weeks. In Bahrain both drivers finished just outside the top three and in Imola the team did well with sixth and eighth place. In Portugal the team needs to make another step forward.