Ferrari confirm line-up for second test

Ferrari confirm line-up for second test

Originally written by Joas van Wingerden. This version is a translation.

Sunday 24 February 2019 14:52

Ferrari have confirmed a slight tweak in their running programme for next week's second preseason test in Barcelona. While Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel alternated days in the first event, they will each enjoy time in the car on all four days of the second test.

Vettel was given first chance to get his hands on the SF90 last Monday, but it is Leclerc who will drive first in test two, having been slated for a Tuesday morning run, with Vettel takin over in the afternoon.

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The pattern will switch day-by-day as Ferrari hope for another positive week.

Ferrari-powered cars completed more mileage than any others – albeit the Scuderia supply a team more than Renault and Honda and Mercedes' customers Williams and Racing Point were affected by differing issues through the week.

Vettel and Leclerc were each top of the timesheets on the first two days of running, but Ferrari opted against showing their hand too much on the quickest tyres over the remainder of the sessions.

However, they turned up the wick towards the end of the fortnight last year, with Vettel and former teammate Kimi Raikkonen ending testing half a second quicker than anyone.

Of course, this is not a perfect indicator of true form to come, but the indications from Barcelona this year are that Ferrari may well be the team to beat, with both Mercedes and Red Bull publicly pegging the red car as the fastest on-track.

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