Leclerc singles out Mercedes' 'impressive' race pace after Australian GP practice

Charles Leclerc identified Mercedes as a potential dark horse after Friday practice at the Australian Grand Prix, highlighting their long-run performance as particularly strong and a step ahead of Ferrari. The Monegasque driver admitted his own session was compromised by an unsuccessful setup experiment, adding to the challenge of a circuit he historically struggles with.

Why it matters:

Leclerc's assessment shifts the narrative from McLaren's headline-grabbing lap times to the underlying race pace, which is a more reliable indicator of Sunday's potential. If accurate, it signals that Mercedes' new car concept is beginning to deliver consistent performance, potentially disrupting the expected pecking order behind Red Bull and tightening the battle in the upper midfield.

The details:

• Focus on Long Runs: Leclerc emphasized that while qualifying pace remains unclear, the race simulations provided a clearer picture, with Mercedes appearing "very, very impressive" and a step ahead.
• Ferrari's Setup Struggle: Leclerc revealed he tried an "aggressive" setup change in FP2 that backfired, forcing him to revert to a more conventional configuration for Saturday.
• Personal Challenge: The Ferrari driver openly acknowledged that the Albert Park circuit, along with Shanghai, is one of his most difficult tracks of the season, though he views it as a motivating challenge.
• Blurred Qualifying Picture: He noted the difficulty in judging one-lap performance due to teams potentially running different programs, citing the gap between McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri (P1) and Lando Norris (P7) as an example.

What's next:

All eyes will be on whether Mercedes can translate its promising Friday long-run pace into a genuine qualifying and race threat. For Leclerc and Ferrari, the task is to refine their setup overnight and close the perceived gap.

• Leclerc aims to move back into a "more reasonable" setup window to improve his performance.
• The final practice session and qualifying on Saturday will reveal if Mercedes' race pace advantage is real and if Ferrari has found solutions to its own issues.