F1 | Ferrari, Charles Leclerc: “Better day than expected”

Charles Leclerc does an encore, marking the only negative note of Ferrari's Friday in Azerbaijan. The Monegasque, in fact, after an excellent performance in FP1 - where he was second just forty-three thousandths of a second from Max Verstappen's best time - lost his SF21 at the end of the straight during the flying lap, touching the wall at turn fifteen, damaging the wing front. An accident that feels very much like déjà vu, both due to the crash in qualifying in 2018, at the entrance to the castle segment, and what happened in qualifying in Monte Carlo, where Charles compromised his chances of victory. This time, fortunately, he just needs to return to the pits and replace the front wing: there is no more time for another flying lap, and Leclerc starts with the race simulation, thus remaining fourth, three tenths behind Sergio Perez.

F1 | Free analysis in Baku: Red Bull also flies with Perez, Ferrari to be reviewed on race pace

"It was undoubtedly a better day than expected, even if we are only talking about free practice – admitted Charles, who remains cautious like his teammate Carlos Sainz, third – the pace today was promising and we will continue to work this evening to be as competitive tomorrow too. I felt comfortable in the car, especially when braking, perhaps too much so given how I pushed at turn 15! But this is also what free practice is for: to seek the limit. However, that was also a good lap, now let's see how it goes tomorrow.

"Our main rivals are fast, even if not everyone has made it clear yet, and for this reason we must make sure we do everything perfectly. We need to maximize our potential and I think we could be well placed for qualifying” concluded the Monegasque.