Charles Leclerc concedes Max Verstappen is still ahead after a strong first day in Melbourne - "There's still margin to improve in some things"

Charles Leclerc has conceded that Max Verstappen might still be ahead despite a strong start to the F1 Australian GP race weekend. The start of the season saw the Red Bull driver dominate comprehensively in the first two races. Both Bahrain and Jeddah saw Verstappen streak away from the chasing pack very early in the race.

The race weekend in Australia has not been the smoothest, however, for Max Verstappen. FP1 saw the Red Bull driver damage his floor, whose repairs took 20 extra minutes in FP2. The second free practice session was not so smooth either as Verstappen had a delayed start to the session.

His run was not in sync with what others did and his fastest lap on the soft tires was around 4 tenths slower than what Charles Leclerc did. The race for the Ferrari driver was quite impressive as well giving an indication of how good the car can be this weekend.

After the session, however, while indicating that this might be the best chance for him to topple Max Verstappen, Leclerc admitted that Red Bull still had the edge. He told F1.com:

"It feels good for now. We've had a positive day from the first laps in FP1 to the end of FP2, so that's a good start. However, we need to keep working very hard because I'm sure that we'll see some surprises tomorrow, and there's no reason for us to be in front tomorrow compared to everyone else as well. There's still margin to improve in some things."

He added:

"Our race run was pretty good, which is encouraging, but let's keep working. I would say that we are in a better position than the first two races, however, Red Bull weren't pushing yet so we've got to wait and see where their potential is at. I think they are still ahead but we might have our best shot this weekend from the beginning of the season."

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Max Verstappen not too worried by Charles Leclerc's pace

After the session, Max Verstappen was not too worried by Charles Leclerc's pace and felt that Red Bull had a messy session overall. Verstappen felt that Red Bull needed to fine-tune a few settings in the car, and that should be enough to help close the gap.

Looking back at the free practice sessions, Verstappen said:

"I think Ferrari is quick but I think from our side, there are also a few more things that we can fine-tune. So nothing crazy, nothing worrying, I think we just need to fine-tune a little bit the car."

Verstappen is on the verge of equalling his record for most consecutive race wins in F1. He's on a 9-race win streak right now, and if he wins in Melbourne, he will equal his record of 10 consecutive wins.