Charles Leclerc believes previous experience around Mugello meant his early position was skewed during practice for the Tuscan Grand Prix.
After rarely featuring inside the top 10 at Spa and Monza, the Monegasque claimed third in the morning session ahead of what is Ferrari’s 1000th race in Formula 1 this weekend.
That placing wouldn’t last, however, as he dropped to 10th in the afternoon, but Leclerc is still confident of improved performance.
“Yes it was positive on the other hand when it is going positive we need to understand why and to be honest it was a bit of a surprise for everyone,” he said of his initial pace relative to the front-runners.
“I have my personal opinion, we have done a filming day which helped get into the rhythm of the track whereas for the others it was a new track, maybe this helped us a little bit, but in FP2 it was more where we expected to be, but I think it is all very close and we can do a positive step for tomorrow, so I have some optimism.”
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Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel continued to lag behind, ending Practice 2 12th fastest before grinding to a halt with a loss of power after the chequered flag.
“Yeah it’s quite a handful for us,” he admitted.
“It’s a nice track, nice scenery, you enjoy that a lot. Obviously it’s quite brutal on tyres so you get one lap and then it’s quite different after that but it’s definitely fun to drive.
“I think we can make it better, but it will be a fight. Obviously it’s quite, yeah, tough circuit in terms of needing the balance you would like from the car but I’m sure we’ll find some small bits.”
