Windsor notices something special about fastest lap time from Leclerc
Peter Windsor has said what has stood out a bit during the first two free practice sessions in Melbourne. Ferrari performed incredibly well, despite coming to a lower top speed than teams like Red Bull Racing and McLaren. Does this contain the secret of Charles Leclerc's blazing fast lap during VT2?
Leclerc was almost four-tenths faster than runner-up Max Verstappen. "Charles proved to be the fastest of the bunch over one lap, but he had the lowest top speed," said Windsor, who then wondered aloud if that was 'the way to go' for the rest of the weekend.
Looking at the longruns, the British journalist saw that Sergio Perez's tyres were starting to wear out quickly. The rubber was experiencing relatively high decay, more so than on the Ferrari and McLarens, so some changes to the set-up will have to be made. "It looked like Red Bull did not have the tyres under control this Friday," he concludes.
Red Bull
Windsor is curious to see what kind of setup the teams will come up with during the third and final practice session. He gives Ferrari good chances for the first pole position of the season, but at the same time, he does not think we should rule out Red Bull Racing with Verstappen and also Sergio Perez. "Red Bull will just be there again on Saturday," he said. The big question, however, is whether they will then also have the speed on Sunday to follow the other guys up front.