Leclerc: Ferrari Feels ‘Very Competitive’ At Imola Despite Crash

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc said there are a lot of positives to take away from Friday despite him crashing out of FP2.

Charles Leclerc climbs out of crashed Ferrari at Imola 2021 - Formula1news.co.uk

Charles Leclerc has said his Ferrari SF21 feels “very competitive” at Imola despite Friday not being an “easy day” for him.

The Monegasque crashed out of Free Practice Two (FP2), with him losing control of the rear of the car in the final sector of the circuit and colliding with a barrier.

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Despite the incident, Leclerc was pleased with how the first two practice sessions for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix went.

“Actually there are a lot of positives today,” Leclerc said.

“It has not been an easy day on my side but the performance has been great for me today. Unfortunately we didn’t do the first part of FP1 for a small problem but then the car felt good.

“And then in FP2 it was very competitive; we got our lap time deleted for very small margins in Turn 9 but yeah, most important is not to do the same in quali, but the performance was there too.

“Also, in the race pace, it was good, and then I did a mistake in the last corner then went into the wall, but yeah, better do it now than in the race,” he added.

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Leclerc finished last year’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix fifth after a very impressive drive – and he feels the Scuderia is in a much stronger position this weekend.

“I like the balance… compared to last year, it felt much better this weekend; the grip is good, the balance is good, and I have quite a bit of confidence in the car so yeah, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

“It felt better than last year, then we have to wait and see for tomorrow whenever we are all pushing in qualifying because for now it’s difficult to believe we are so close to the top teams and I am pretty sure they have more to come for tomorrow, so let’s wait and see,” Leclerc added.

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