Photo: Race Pictures

Leclerc takes stock after eye-catching final day in Barcelona testing

16:13, 30 Jan

Updated: 17:25, 30 Jan

byTobia Elia

Charles Leclerc shared his thoughts at the end of the fifth and final day on track in Barcelona, having topped the timesheets in the morning session.

“The last two days have been positive as well. Again, all the tests we wanted to do, everything we had in mind, we did”

- Charles Leclerc

The Monegasque wrapped up the final morning of the five-day Barcelona test with a 1:16.653, almost matching the time set yesterday by George Russell, while also completing a further 79 laps — another clear sign of the Ferrari power unit’s strong reliability so far.

Speaking to F1, he summed up his day as follows: “It was good again. We went through our programme, we did everything we wanted to do and we pushed a little bit more as well, which was nice — to feel a little bit the limit of this car and to understand a little bit more of it as well. I’m happy because again we’ve gone through our programme and done everything we wanted.”

Asked to draw broader conclusions from the five-day test, in which Ferrari showed encouraging signs despite no one chasing outright performance at this stage, he once again sounded satisfied.

Photo: Race Pictures

“It’s been a positive one. Obviously the first day was a tricky one because driving on the wet in those conditions was uneasy, especially with a completely new car and a completely new system, so making sure that everything was working properly in those conditions was very difficult. I think it’s been a very good and very valuable experience going forward, in case we drive on the wet during a race weekend. We’ll at least have that experience already, which is a good thing.

He finally added: “The last two days have been positive as well. Again, all the tests we wanted to do, everything we had in mind, we did. And now this last afternoon with Lewis, which I hope will allow us to go through the final things we wanted to try before we start focusing on Bahrain.”

Hamilton reflects on ‘better-than-expected’ winter testing for Ferrari

The Briton, unlike last year, has shown a far more positive approach compared to the previous season, during which he himself admitted to having had a “worse start” than this one.

Also staying well clear of any performance-focused running, he has racked up plenty of mileage every time he climbed into the SF-26, steadily familiarising himself with the car.

Read the full story here.

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