Leclerc: Sharing FP1 with Arthur the ‘only positive’ on Friday

Charles Leclerc had little to smile about on the opening day of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but there was one unmistakable highlight: sharing the Yas Marina circuit with his younger brother, Arthur, during FP1.

The 28-year-old Monegasque called it a “very special moment,” even if the rest of the day offered more frustration than celebration for Ferrari.

For the second consecutive year, the Leclerc brothers took part in Friday’s first practice session, with 25-year-old Arthur completing Scuderia Ferrari’s final mandated rookie outing of the season.

The younger Leclerc completed 27 laps, placing 16th, and couldn’t resist a playful jab at Charles after he spun at Turn 5, joking about his older brother “doing some burnouts.”

When asked about his brother’s cheeky radio remarks, Charles laughed: “I actually didn’t know he said that on the radio – that’s cheeky from him!”

He reflected on the emotional significance of the family moment.

“It was incredible,” he said. “It’s always a very special emotion to see my brother in a Formula 1 seat and to be sharing the track in Formula 1 with him when we were both dreaming of that moment when we were kids, so it’s a very special moment.

“However, unfortunately it was the only positive of today because the rest has been a struggle, but at least that gives me a little bit of a smile.”

Struggles Continue for Ferrari

Outside the family highlight, the day was far from smooth. Leclerc admitted Ferrari has “not yet” found solutions after reporting slow race pace in FP1 despite concluding the opening session P3, just 0.016s behind pacesetter Lando Norris.

“We are trying everything, but unfortunately there’s something that we are missing since two or three races that I don’t quite understand where it’s gone,” he explained

“But we are doing everything in trying to understand that and I hope we can find a solution before tomorrow’s Qualifying.”

Despite the challenges, the eight-time Grand Prix winner expressed a degree of satisfaction at finishing the year behind the wheel of the SF-25.

“I’m kind of happy about that, especially considering how it’s going at the moment, but I just really want to finish on a high,” he said. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to finish on a high if we continue like that, but I will do my best.”

Hamilton Still Has Hope For SF-25

Lewis Hamilton, who took part in FP2 for Ferrari, echoed the sentiment of appreciating young talent breaking into the sport.

“Thankful! No, I feel okay. I think obviously Arthur did a good job this morning. It’s always cool to watch youngsters come through and do what they do and see them shine,” commented the Briton.

“That ultimately puts whoever misses the session on a little bit of back foot, but I did my best to get up to speed as quick as possible, and obviously [I’ve] been faced with quite a difficult balance in this session so we’ve got some work to do.”

Hamilton remains cautiously optimistic about Ferrari’s potential.

“I still have hope and there’s potential in this car. My question to the guys is like, ‘There are certain issues that we have. These are my problems, help me fix them – what can we do to improve our ride and the bouncing that we have and the understeer?’

“So if we can fix those going into FP3, then I think we could be in a slightly better position. The first and second sector I was right there – pace-wise it wasn’t so bad, it’s just when I got to the third sector, it was seven tenths, so if I can fix that tomorrow I think we can do better.”

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