Barcelona (dpa) – Formula 1 leader Charles Leclerc made a perfect start to the Spanish Grand Prix thanks to technical innovations and an impeccable driving performance.
The 24-year-old from Monaco set the fastest practice time of 1:19.670 minutes in his overtaken Ferrari, relegating the two Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton to second and third place. World champion Max Verstappen had to settle for fifth in the Red Bull in the north of Barcelona. Sebastian Vettel drove his Aston Martin to eighth place, Mick Schumacher was tenth in the Haas racing car.
“It’s been very close between us since the beginning of the season,” Leclerc said before the training sessions for the close title fight with Verstappen: “They were a little ahead recently, so I hope we can jump forward again.” Despite Ferrari’s new technology, Verstappen was not upset.
Red Bull without decisive innovations
“They come with a few upgrades, but in the end we have to focus on ourselves,” demanded the 24-year-old after three wins in five races: “We need a clean weekend. We want to start from the front, then we need it too not to be overtaken.”
Red Bull has not brought any significant innovations and relies on the old car concept. The strengthened Mercedes and Ferrari installed new parts for changed aerodynamics. Just like Vettel with brand new Aston Martin. Due to the similarity to the Red Bull, the world motorsport association had already investigated whether the English had copied aerodynamic parts from the competition. According to a statement, the Fia came to the conclusion that the racing team with the new cars did not break any rules.