A new, more balanced Ferrari for Leclerc
Charles Leclerc admits that the SF21 is more stable than the SF1000.
Ferrari’s 2021 car is easier to drive than its predecessor from 2020! This is at least the latest opinion of Charles Leclerc this Thursday in a press conference, just before the first free practice sessions of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
According to the Monegasque, the SF21 has a better balance, both at the front and at the rear. There are positive signs, from entry to exit of the corner. The car is easier to drive. But it is still difficult to judge before qualifying,” Leclerc tempers.
Asked about engine improvements, Scuderia’s driver #16 remains cautious: we have to wait for qualifying once we put everything to the max.
The overall impression still needs to be confirmed because of the extremely limited winter tests. Like the rest of the grid, the two Ferrari drivers only had three days of testing to get accustomed to the car. Three days that were effectively cut in half for each driver! “We are as ready as we could have been,” pointed out Leclerc to the journalists. The pre-season program for the Reds was respected.
« There are positive signs, from entering to exiting the turn. The car is easier to drive. »
An opinion shared by his new teammate Carlos Sainz, not yet fully comfortable in his new car. But the Spaniard has done a lot of work on the simulator. Enough in any case to see big differences with the 2020 McLaren. With this observation: « I still don’t understand how our lap times are identical with such different cars!
If the official simulations from the tests show that the Scuderia is well below Mercedes or Red Bull, a small part of the Motors Inside editorial team still bets on a surprise podium for Leclerc or Sainz this Sunday at the end of the Grand Prix. You can find all our predictions in this article, as well as the full presentation of the Bahrain Grand Prix!
