Charles Leclerc hailed his youthful brother Arthur’s Free Observe 1 look on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as a “very particular second”, with the Monegasque suggesting that it was the “solely optimistic” from Friday after one other powerful outing for Ferrari.
For the second year in a row, the Leclerc siblings participated within the opening practice hour on the Yas Marina Circuit as 25-year-old Arthur fulfilled the Scuderia’s remaining mandated rookie outing of the marketing campaign.
The youthful Leclerc logged 27 laps and positioned in sixteenth on the timesheets – in addition to taking a second to poke enjoyable at his older brother for “performing some burnouts” when the latter suffered a spin at Flip 5.
When requested about his brother’s remarks on the finish of Friday’s working, Leclerc – who was third quickest within the session, earlier than putting eighth in Free Practice 2 – smiled: “I truly didn’t know he stated that on the radio – that’s cheeky from him!”
The 28-year-old went on to share how particular it’s to be on the circuit alongside his brother, including: “It was unbelievable.
“It’s at all times a really particular emotion to see my brother in a Components 1 seat and to be sharing the observe in Components 1 with him once we had been each dreaming of that second once we had been children, so it’s a really particular second. Nonetheless, sadly it was the one optimistic of at present as a result of the remaining has been a battle, however a minimum of that provides me slightly little bit of a smile.”
Leclerc conceded that the group had “not but” discovered any solutions after reporting gradual race tempo in FP1.
“We are attempting every part, however sadly there’s one thing that we’re lacking since two or three races that I don’t fairly perceive the place it’s gone,” he defined. “However we’re doing every part in making an attempt to grasp that and I hope we will discover a resolution earlier than tomorrow’s Qualifying.”
For now Leclerc admitted that he’s considerably happy to have accomplished his final Friday of the yr on the wheel of the SF-25, with the eight-time race winner commenting: “I’m type of completely satisfied about that, particularly contemplating the way it’s going in the meanwhile, however I simply actually wish to end on a excessive.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s going to complete on a excessive if we proceed like that, however I’ll do my greatest.”
Lewis Hamilton echoed these sentiments on the opposite aspect of the Ferrari storage. When requested for his emotions after the ultimate Friday of the 2025 marketing campaign, the Briton answered: “Grateful! No, I really feel okay. I feel clearly Arthur did a very good job this morning.
“It’s at all times cool to look at kids come by and do what they do and see them shine. That finally places whoever misses the session on slightly little bit of again foot, however I did my greatest to stand up to hurry as fast as potential, and clearly [I’ve] been confronted with fairly a tough steadiness on this session so we’ve acquired some work to do.”
Regardless of the difficulties, Hamilton – who was thirteenth on the timesheets in FP2, his sole apply outing of the day – remains to be hoping for a step ahead throughout the the rest of the weekend.
“I nonetheless have hope and there’s potential on this automobile,” the seven-time World Champion stated. “My query to the fellows is like, ‘There are specific points that we’ve got. These are my issues, assist me repair them – what can we do to enhance our journey and the bouncing that we’ve got and the understeer?’
“So if we will repair these going into FP3, then I feel we might be in a barely higher place. The primary and second sector I used to be proper there – pace-wise it wasn’t so unhealthy, it’s simply once I acquired to the third sector, it was seven tenths, so if I can repair that tomorrow I feel we will do higher.”
