There were mixed feelings about Ferrari’s potential despite scoring one-two finishes in both practice sessions in Germany on Friday.
As the European heatwave brought the hottest air temperature seen all season at 38C, the Scuderia shone with their pace in the first two sectors enough to counteract Mercedes’ strength through the stadium.
However, with conditions set to be very different for the rest of the weekend, afternoon pacesetter Charles Leclerc wasn’t too optimistic.
“It’s obviously looking good, but on the other hand it’s only Friday and we know Mercedes sometimes is hiding a little bit until Saturday, so it’s not going to be easy,” said the Monegasque.
“Also it’s going to be cooler tomorrow, which will help the other teams. We are always very strong when it’s sunny, and if it’s raining, we also know that Red Bull is very, very quick.
“It’s not going to be easy, but a positive day anyway.”
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Teammate Sebastian Vettel believes there is more to come from Ferrari at Hockenheim, however, which could keep them in contention.
“I’m pretty happy,” the local favourite declared. “I think it was a better day, a few hiccups here and there to find the rhythm.
“We lost a bit of time as I had a flat-spot on the medium tyres in the afternoon but all in all it felt good, the car felt good. I think there’s quite a bit of margin to go faster.
“We’ll see how the conditions are, I think that’s the main thing. We tried to do the job today and do our homework and carry that into tomorrow but it will be different.
“The car is pretty much the same. I guess it’s more conditions and the track and how we go along, so let’s hope we can keep it that way.”
As for Leclerc’s fear that the dramatic change in weather could play into the hands of their rivals, Vettel was cautious.
“It’s hard to say because I don’t know how much Mercedes and Red Bull had to compromise for the heat,” he explained.
“I think it impacts on everyone, you saw that everybody was opening the cooling to the maximum. So I think it would have been nice to have a really, really hot race.
“It’s also fun inside the car and I quite like it when you break into a sweat. I don’t know but I think the forecast says it won’t be like today.”
