Charles Leclerc Warns of Mercedes' Speed in Australian GP

Charles Leclerc is concerned that Ferrari is being left behind by Mercedes in terms of speed following the opening practice sessions of the Australian Grand Prix.

Leclerc, who led Ferrari to a 1-2 finish in first practice, believes Mercedes to be a team that Ferrari must beat on race day.

'FP1 went well, FP2 Mercedes slowly started to show more of what they had and we started to see where we were lacking compared to them,' Leclerc said in a response to Crash.net.

'I think they were very strong, especially in terms of race pace. I don't know how much margin they still have in qualifying, but in terms of race pace, they seem very strong compared to us.

'So, there's a lot of work to be done, but I'm not too focused on that. We still have a lot to improve on our car. In FP2 I tried something quite aggressive that didn't work, so I'll go back with a more sensible setup tomorrow and see how it goes.'

MERCEDES have been frequently referred to as favourites for the season title throughout the off-season, but the team has continually downplayed its reputation.

However, Leclerc believes Mercedes has highlighted its reputation by displaying impressive speed during the second free practice session (FP2) which took place throughout the race.

'In terms of race pace, they were very impressive,' Leclerc said about Mercedes.

'In terms of qualifying pace, it's hard to know how much more they can show.

'Oscar did a very impressive lap, but I also don't know what they were doing in between the cars because maybe they were testing different things between the cars because Lando was quite far back.'

'Again, this is the first race with cars that are truly new, so many questions. In the long run, I think you'll have a better idea of how things are going to pan out with everyone's performance.

'I hope I'm wrong and we're a lot faster tomorrow, but at the moment, it seems Mercedes is a step ahead, then Red Bull, McLaren and us afterwards.'

Leclerc acknowledges he still has to learn how to maximise the potential of the new Ferrari car.

'There are still a few things that need to be improved, as I always say, Melbourne and Shanghai may be the two hardest tracks for me throughout the season and I've always struggled, so this is a challenge,' he said.

'But that shouldn't be an excuse. I enjoy the challenge and I'll work hard to turn things around tomorrow.'

Joining Crash.net in 2021 as an Editor for the Indonesian Edition, Derry oversees most of the Indonesian articles on the site.