Ferrari "better than expected" despite driveshaft issue - Leclerc

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc believes the team performed "better than expected" despite losing nearly all of second free practice for the Sakhir Grand Prix due to a driveshaft issue.

Leclerc lapped fast enough to break the top 10 in first practice despite the layout of the Outer Loop, on paper at least, favouring the more powerful power units of Mercedes, Renault and Honda.

The driveshaft problem in FP2 cut Leclerc's running to just two laps in that session but the Monegasque driver remained upbeat despite what seemed to be a problematic night.

"We were actually better than expected," he said. "Also, FP2 was good until the failure on my side. Hopefully, it will be a good day [for qualifying].

On the difficulty of protecting the car through the middle-sector, Leclerc explained: "The kerbs are very high there then it seems that if you take them in a certain way, people have broken some parts.

"It will be tricky for the race but I actually enjoyed the track, very few corners. It reminded me a bit of the karting days too. It is nice and it should be a fun race."

Team-mate Sebastian Vettel enjoyed an even better first practice than Leclerc, finishing eighth before his performance dropped off into the night.

Despite several mistakes - including two spins - Vettel remained resolute ahead of the weekend, insisting the lack of pace in FP2 was down to a radical set-up change and was not a true reflection of the Scuderia's prospects in Bahrain.

"We have had a mixed day," said Vettel. "The first session was ok but the second session was horrible. We tried something with the car and I think it was very aggressive but probably not what we needed.

"I hope tomorrow we can close the loop and get back on track. We were happy and we thought it would work but I don't think it did."

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