Leclerc: Ferrari is better than last year, just wait until we're 100 per cent

Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari has a better car than last year and issued a warning to rivals at the top of the grid after the beginning of pre-season testing.

The Ferrari driver finished fourth fastest on the opening day in Bahrain, behind team-mate Carlos Sainz, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

He is still certain, though, that the SF-23 is a strong car – and with Carlos Sainz going quickest in the morning run (at least he was, at the type of writing) and clocking a quicker lap than Verstappen managed on Thursday, it would appear he may well have a case.

There are also rumours of new parts being introduced on Ferrari's car, notably a new floor, so there is still plenty of room for improvement, too.

"The car is better than 2022. Let's see next week when we will have everything at 100 per cent," said Leclerc.

READ MORE: F1 Testing 2023: The driver schedule for the next two days in Bahrain

Leclerc on Verstappen's first run

Asked what he made of Verstappen's first day, where the Dutchman finished both morning and afternoon sessions on top, Leclerc – who takes to the track in the afternoon on Day 2 – replied: "For now we are really not focusing on that.

"We had very different programmes yesterday.

"We are happy with what we have done, we have no idea how much fuel they have in the car, no idea how much they are pushing their engine.

"There are so many questions so we are not focused on that, we are focused on ourselves.

"Let's see if we can manage to understand bit more in the next couple of days but for now, we are just focused on ourselves."

🌴🌶️🏎️ #SF23 pic.twitter.com/UkuFlc8VOB

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 24, 2023

Ferrari first impressions

Ferrari had a relatively drama-free first day of running and Sainz led the way after two hours of the second day.

"I think we are all happy because the data matched with what we had back at the factory which was a really important first thing for the first day," said Leclerc.

"It is very important to focus on ourselves because no team will really show their full potential here, we don't know how much they have left to show.

"So we will try to get the best feeling out of these test days and be as ready as possible for next week."

READ MORE: Red Bull tricks which helped RB19 set pace on Day 1

Related

Pre-season testing

Hamilton, Verstappen and EVERY F1 teams' reaction to pre-season testing

• February 25, 2023 20:36

Pre-season testing

Who led the lap count? Each driver and team's laps completed in pre-season testing

• February 25, 2023 18:45