Leclerc spin proves Ferrari still have "margin" for improvement

Charles Leclerc believes his spin during second practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix proves Ferrari still "margin" for improvement despite matching Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull driver finished just 0.087secs clear of Leclerc as the Scuderia underlined its testing pace with a strong showing to kick off its 2022 campaign.

Carlos Sainz was third in the second Ferrari with both drivers the only that seem to be able to cause reigning champion Verstappen problems in qualifying on Saturday, given the lack of performance for Mercedes and McLaren.

"With what we have seen today, it starts to be a bit more representative," explained Leclerc.

"Ok, nobody is on the absolute limit of the car, but there haven't been any bad surprises today which is a good sign.

"So it seems as though we are in the mix, more or less, which is good, it gives us a bit of a smile but there is still a lot of work to do for tomorrow and hopefully we will be able to fight for pole."

Leclerc's best lap time came on a set of soft tyres he had scrubbed along the racetrack when getting greedy on the exit of turn 11 and spinning in what was the only dramatic mishap of the day for the Italian outfit.

"I am quite confident with the car and it is all about trying to test the limit today to not do the same mistakes tomorrow," he said.

"I went for it and in the end, I did the fast lap on the second lap so I think there is a bit of margin still.

"It is not looking too bad but it went well. We tested a lot of things and changed the car quite a bit compared to where we started and all the changes we have done made us progress so we need to do the same tomorrow and hopefully we will have a car to fight."

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Why is Max Verstappen driving for Mercedes at the Nurburgring?

• 37 minutes ago

Aston Martin F1 issue official statement moments after Jonathan Wheatley Audi exit

• 1 hour ago

Aston Martin bombshell drops as F1 team principal exit announced

• 2 hours ago

Mercedes F1 announce new team principal role in unique reshuffle

• 2 hours ago

Max Verstappen goes into the Green Hell: Nurburgring track guide and why F1 will never return

• 3 hours ago

Lando Norris follows in Lewis Hamilton's footsteps after being given famous London tribute

• Today 13:55