Leclerc’s impressive speed makes a Ferrari a genuine pole threat

For 22 seasons since joining the Formula 1 calendar in 1996, Australia’s Albert Park circuit was the perfect venue to host the first round of the championship.

A street circuit set in the popular Australian city with multiple long straights, overtaking opportunities, a mix of slow, 90-degree and high-speed corners with plenty of bumps and minimal natural grip. Throw in a field of new cars, the odd rookie or two and it’s no wonder why races in Melbourne are often so memorable.

While Albert Park has not kicked off the world championship since 2019, it might as well be this weekend. After two rounds dominated Max Verstappenand Red Bull in what has felt more like a continuation of last season rather than an all new championship, the Australian Grand Prix looks like it might finally shake things up.

After an eventful Friday came to an end, it was not Red Bull who were fastest, but Ferrari. And by no small margin: Charles Leclerc had almost four tenths of a second over the world champion after their fastest push laps in the evening session. But while the results alone do not tell the full story, Leclerc’s declaration that this was Ferrari’s “best shot” at Red Bull to date is reason enough for fans of Ferrari or of greater competition at the front of the field in general to get excited.

Meanwhile, Verstappen described his day as “a little bit messy” after battling with his car’s balance in the low-grip conditions, resulting in him running off late in the early session and damaging his RB20’s floor.

“I think Ferrari is quick,” the world champion accepted. “From our side, I think there are a few more things that we can fine-tune. Nothing crazy, nothing worrying. We just need to fine-tune a little bit the car.”

But Verstappen will not be the only driver seeking more time and grip from his car’s set-up overnight. From Verstappen to Leclerc, Fernando Alonso to Lewis Hamilton, George Russell to Lando Norris, Lance Stroll to Yuki Tsunoda and even honorary Aussie Valtteri Bottas, the vast majority of the field had a heart-stopping moment or two out over the two hours of practice.

“Everything is very tricky,” Leclerc explained after setting the best time of the day.

“It’s a very challenging track with quite high kerbs and the wind as well. There’s also only one line and whenever you get a bit off line, then you lose a lot of grip. But it makes it quite fun.”

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Back in Bahrain, Ferrari probably should have beaten Verstappen to pole. The Red Bull is strong in qualifying, but absolutely not untouchable. And second practice suggests that Ferrari may have a genuine chance on Saturday.

Leclerc’s Ferrari was very strong in the mid-corner. Through turn one on his fastest lap, he came off the throttle later than many of his closest rivals but had enough confidence to plant his right foot earlier too, allowing him to pull at least a tenth over most of his competition which they never clawed back. Even more encouragingly for Ferrari, Sainz was also ahead of Verstappen for most of their best laps of the day, with Sainz later admitting he was keeping some margin to help ease himself back into the car following his appendix surgery a fortnight ago.

But it’s also clear that Red Bull likely have more performance to find through the corners. Verstappen was particularly strong exiting the fast chicane of turns nine and ten and was gaining back time rapidly on Leclerc down the approach to turn 11, only to lose all that regained time through the final corners. If Red Bull can dial in their set-up overnight and find more grip, they have every chance of making it a hat trick of poles to start the season.

However, qualifying sessions in Melbourne are anything but routine. The risk of red flags interrupting drivers on their quick laps is particularly high around Albert Park. With the amount of mistakes seen in practice over the bumps in these ultra-low riding ground effect cars, getting out early in the rush out of the pit lane towards the end of sessions may be vital, lest teams risk losing their best timed laps through having to slow down for another car’s accident.

But while this could be an intensely competitive and stressful qualifying session, Leclerc does not seem to be feeling any pressure to perform given the opportunity sitting before him.

“We are fast, so we are enjoying it,” he said. “But we need to wait and see tomorrow if we are as fast.”

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Combined practice times

P.	#	Driver	Team	FP1 time	FP2 time	Gap	Laps
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1’18.599	1’17.277		48
2	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull-Honda RBPT	1’18.582	1’17.658	0.381	40
3	55	Carlos Sainz Jnr	Ferrari	1’18.686	1’17.707	0.430	48
4	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin-Mercedes	1’18.667	1’17.822	0.545	55
5	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin-Mercedes	1’19.716	1’17.912	0.635	47
6	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1’18.597	1’17.951	0.674	45
7	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	1’18.918	1’18.077	0.800	54
8	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull-Honda RBPT	1’18.642	1’18.090	0.813	56
9	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	1’18.564	1’18.155	0.878	46
10	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB-Honda RBPT	1’18.621	1’18.188	0.911	53
11	24	Zhou Guanyu	Sauber-Ferrari	1’19.989	1’18.421	1.144	55
12	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB-Honda RBPT	1’19.274	1’18.534	1.257	55
13	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams-Mercedes	1’19.519	1’18.578	1.301	45
14	77	Valtteri Bottas	Sauber-Ferrari	1’20.014	1’18.585	1.308	53
15	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine-Renault	1’19.622	1’18.691	1.414	58
16	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas-Ferrari	1’19.604	1’18.702	1.425	49
17	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine-Renault	1’19.561	1’18.705	1.428	57
18	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1’18.771	1’18.834	1.494	43
19	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	1’19.489	1’19.275	1.998	52
20	23	Alexander Albon	Williams-Mercedes	1’19.443		2.166	11

Teams’ progress vs 2023

2024 Australian Grand Prix

• Alonso calls Australian GP penalty a ‘one-off I’ve had too many of’
• Red Bull saw warning sign of Australian GP brake problem on Saturday – Verstappen
• Failing to punish Alonso would have “opened a can of worms” – Russell
• Leclerc sure “many team principals” are pursuing Sainz for 2025 seat
• “Don’t put me under pressure” – The best unheard team radio from Melbourne

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