Leclerc aims to maximize Ferrari pace after 'very fun' Friday

Charles Leclerc says he'll be seeking to capitalize tomorrow on Ferrari's impressive performance on the opening day of running at the Turkish GP.

The Monegasque ended Friday's afternoon session runner-up to pace-setter Max Verstappen, while teammate Sebastian Vettel also took a stand among the top-ten fastest runners, a combination of results that bodes well for Ferrari moving forward.

Oddly, while most of his fellow rivals were highly critical of Istanbul Park's slippery surface, Leclerc was a smile in a room full of frowns, even admitting to having enjoyed his day on the ice.

"Well at first I was really not convinced by the grip of the track and I was like ‘Oh, this is going to be a very bad day’, but after a few laps I actually really, really enjoyed it," Leclerc said.

"It was actually very, very fun to have such low grip. We need to understand why though to be honest because it’s probably not great to have a Friday like this - we don’t learn much - but in terms of driving it was very fun and we’ve been very competitive too.

"I don’t think it will improve much during the weekend so it’s good that we’ve done quite a lot of mileage today to understand the conditions, and hopefully we can maximise the result tomorrow."

• Leclerc hails big improvements 'as a driver' in challenging year

Leclerc pointed to Saturday's uncertain weather forecast as a potential opportunity to shine. But the two-time Grand Prix winner was still predicting a tricky day.

"I really hope so," Leclerc added. "I think the weather forecast doesn’t look so great for tomorrow so I don’t know how it will be in the rain because already today felt like the rain.

"So tomorrow will be a very tricky day, but if we do everything perfect I think we look quite competitive so I hope it can be a good opportunity for us."

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