Scuderia Ferrari HP got through its planned programme for the first two hours of free practice for the Belgian Grand Prix without any problems. The team was hoping for two dry sessions so as to evaluate the latest evolutions introduced in Hungary, this time on a quick track like Spa-Francorchamps and its wish was granted. It was cloudy for most of the day in the Ardennes, but the rain stopped shortly after 8am. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were thus able to gather the required data, while also getting on with the usual set up work on the SF-24s. In the second and quickest of the two sessions the Monegasque and the Spaniard were fourth and fifth fastest respectively and tomorrow, the work will continue in the final free practice session, starting at 12.30 CEST, prior to qualifying at 16.00.
FP1. In the first hour Charles and Carlos set off on Medium tyres before switching to Softs on which they set their best times of 1’44”306 and 1’44”574 respectively, which put them sixth and ninth on the time sheet. In the last 15 minutes, they reverted to used tyres – Medium for Leclerc and Soft for Sainz – running a heavier fuel load. Charles did 25 laps, Carlos did 24, totalling 49 between them.
FP2. The second session began at 17.00 and Leclerc started out on Soft tyres, while Carlos opted for Mediums, the pair running slightly different programmes. In the middle of the session, they both ran new Softs with which Charles set the fourth fastest time of 1’42”837 and Carlos the fifth in 1’43”098. For the final part of the session, both SF-24s again took on a heavy fuel load to run in race trim, this time with Leclerc running the Soft tyres and Sainz went back to Mediums, completing 48 laps between them, 23 for Charles and 25 for Carlos.
Charles Leclerc #16
A difficult day to understand, running with various set ups and tyres, with all the teams on their own run plans.
We don’t yet have a clear picture and with the expectation of rain tomorrow and dry conditions on Sunday, we will work to find the best compromise to extract the maximum on both days. It’s our last race before the holidays, so we will give it everything to finish it on a high.
Carlos Sainz #55
This year we found a very different track compared to previous years due to the new asphalt. We had to adapt the car to these new conditions and bumps, but overall the new surface provides a lot more grip. We need to keep an eye out for tyre degradation and race simulation was an important part of our Friday programme. Tomorrow we'll try to focus on maximising the package we have and qualify as high up as possible.