Formula 1 | Sainz and Leclerc ready for the Bahrain GP

A very warm climate welcomed drivers and teams to Bahrain, home to the first race of the 2021 season which is scheduled for Sunday. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz arrived at the track late in the morning to begin preparing for the Sakhir weekend together with the engineers. Before concluding the day with the usual track walk under the spotlight, the Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow drivers met the media in the traditional Thursday press conference.

Desire to get on the track. The first to speak was Charles who was asked how ready he feels for the new season: “We prepared in the best possible way: during the only pre-season test session we were among the teams that lapped the most and the car behaved as we expected. But now it's time to know the true values ​​on the pitch, something that we will start to see from Saturday." According to Leclerc, the SF21 has improved in several aspects compared to the SF1000 from which it derives: “In balance and cornering behaviour, for example - he has declared -. I'd say it's a little easier to drive too. These are positive signs, but it is difficult to judge now."

Long awaited moment. Even Carlos Sainz can't wait to get into the car: “From the moment I arrived, I understood that Ferrari is something special and different from all the other teams – said the Spaniard – I want to make the most of this journey and this experience that I have dreamed of since I was ten years old." Carlos has said several times that he would have liked to have been able to count on a few more days of testing to get in tune with the SF21: “I'm convinced I can do well: I worked to be as ready as possible at the start of the season by maximizing the time I had on track with the new car, working hard with the engineers in analyzing the data and also driving a lot in the simulator” . The Spaniard then added: “Moving from one team to another is not at all trivial in terms of procedures and the behavior of the cars on the track. It is incredible, in fact, how very different cars end up achieving very similar times. It probably won't be easy to push the car to the limit of its potential in the first race, but it's also a question of sensations. This is why I can't wait to get on track."

Program. Two free practice sessions are scheduled for tomorrow, both lasting 60 minutes, at 14.30pm and 18pm local time (12.30pm and 16pm CET). Qualifying on Saturday will be at 18pm (16pm CET), preceded by the last hour of testing at 15pm (13pm CET). The Grand Prix will start at 18pm on Sunday (17pm CET).