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Charles Leclerc spent the first day of running at the 2022 F1 French GP near the top of the standings. The Ferrari driver was first in FP1 and second in FP2 and demonstrated the kind of one-lap superiority his team enjoyed at Paul Ricard.
On the long runs, however, the situation was reversed. Leclerc was unable to hold on to his tires while Max Verstappen had a very impressive stint where the Red Bull stood out over everyone else.
Speaking to the media after practice, the Monegasque was still thinking about the kind of speed Verstappen showed and was admittedly puzzled by it. He said:
“Max seems to be particularly quick today on the high-fuel so I don’t know how much fuel they are running that is the question mark. Let’s see tomorrow I believe the pace is in the car, we just need to focus on ourselves and if we do the perfect weekend will be fighting for the win.”
Charles Leclerc conceded that he felt Red Bull were most probably doing something different to Ferrari and hence were behaving differently on track. Despite a strong session for the Scuderia, Leclerc still felt the Austrian outfit held the edge when it mattered. He said:
“Yeah it was a good Friday. I mean we still have to work on the car a little bit for tomorrow. It’s very difficult to understand because it feels like Red Bull is doing something different to us on Friday, but focusing on ourselves the feeling is good. so we just need to put everything together and the pace is in the car.”
Tire management will be key in high temperatures: Charles Leclerc
When questioned on what would be the key to success at Circuit Paul Ricard this weekend, Charles Leclerc pointed to tire management as the most important aspect. The high track temperature combined with the high-speed sections of the track puts a lot of stress on the tires and tire degradation is going to be an issue for the teams.
The Ferrari driver said:
“The sessions went quite well today. Our qualifying pace was pretty good, so our focus now will be on our race pace. Tyre management will be key, as the temperatures are so high this weekend. I am confident that we will be all set by the time Sunday comes as we know where we need to improve.”
Leclerc is currently 38 points behind Verstappen in the drivers' championship. The Ferrari driver has closed the gap to the reigning world champion in the last two races and will be hoping to continue the momentum here.
