Leclerc cautious on Ferrari chances despite positive start to testing

Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari's early testing form indicates a step forward from last season's woes but warned a true reflection will not be seen until after the weekend has finished.

The Scuderia struggled its way to sixth in last season's standings, although has made a more positive start to this year's testing with Carlos Sainz finishing in the top five on day one in Bahrain.

Whilst Leclerc hailed the promising beginning to the campaign, the Monégasque warned the track conditions could mask the true running order.

When asked if the team had addressed rear instability issues, Leclerc said: "I think there has been some work on that.

"The first data we have seen on track is correlating with the data we had back in Maranello before this test, so this is already a positive.

"To give feedback on the car now with these conditions is very difficult but to see we have made some work on it and the data is correlating well with what we have in Maranello is a good sign of that."

One of the weakest areas of last year's SF-1000 was an underpowered engine that hampered all Ferrari-powered teams.

With the Scuderia introducing a new power-unit into the fold this season to try and claw its way back up the order, Leclerc has indicated an additional positive feeling from his running so far.

"Everything feels quite good but it is very difficult to comment now," he added.

"Nobody is pushing everything to its limit, especially in these conditions, so right now it is early days but everything feels good and stacks up with what we expected."

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