Charles Leclerc says he wasn’t pushing flat out when he set the fastest time of testing so far this morning.

The Ferrari driver’s lap of 1’16.231 is the fastest time seen so far in testing and almost a full second quicker than the team managed in last year’s pre-season test.

“Obviously I think as [with] everything we are not flat-out,” Leclerc told RaceFans and other media after his benchmark run. “There’s still some margin, a bit obviously in myself I still have to learn and get more comfortable with the car.”

Leclerc described the team’s new chassis as “easy to drive” after his first runs in it and says he is still happy with the SF90.

“It hasn’t changed since day one, to be honest. The car feels comfortable from day one. The balance is pretty nice and it hasn’t changed today. So it’s a positive day.

“Especially after the lack of running yesterday it’s a good morning for us. It’s good to be on top but it doesn’t mean anything.”

With Sebastian Vettel due to take over the car for the final day tomorrow, Leclerc has a final afternoon in the SF90 to prepare himself before his first race for the team in Melbourne. He said he hopes to be able to complete a race simulation in that time.

“I think some race sims obviously that we haven’t done fully yet which we’ll probably do this afternoon. This is a big unknown for now because we haven’t done a full one, or I didn’t.

“But apart from that I’m pretty happy about the test we have done. As I said the car is solid I feel pretty comfortable all in it. Still a lot to learn but it’s a it’s a good start.”

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2019 F1 season