Leclerc and Sainz sensed victory from FP1 in Australia

Confidence from the outset

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz exuded confidence after their 1-2 finish at the Australian Grand Prix, claiming they could sense Ferrari's race-winning capacity from as early as Friday's first practice session.

"It's been a long time since we've had the genuine pace to have Red Bull under control,"

remarked Leclerc after his second-place finish.

"But from FP1, we knew pole position and the race win were possible because we had very good tyre degradation [and] very good pace. That is a very encouraging sign."

Sainz echoes sentiments

Race winner Sainz corroborated his teammate's assertions:

"From lap one, it felt like a race-winning car. And even if Red Bull were quick and on pole, that [1:15.915 pole lap time] in quali wasn't out of reach for us."

Maximizing results

Leclerc lauded Ferrari's ability to capitalize on their competitive package across the opening three rounds, a departure from past strategy blunders.

"If you look at the first three races, there's not one where we didn't maximize the result,"

he stated.

"Whenever we have the opportunity to win, we need to take it, and this weekend we did it."

Red Bull's stumbles

While Max Verstappen's fiery brake failure eliminated a potential Red Bull threat, Leclerc acknowledged the reigning champions' race pace, suggesting Ferrari still trails their rivals over a stint.

"We still have a lot of work to do,"

he admitted.

"Two out of the first three races, [Red Bull] had the upper hand in the race."

Sustained consistency key

As the season progresses, Leclerc underscored the importance of maintaining Ferrari's current level of performance until they develop a car capable of consistently outpacing Red Bull, especially over the course of a race stint.

Sainz's optimism

Sainz's comments highlighted his optimism about the SF-24's outright pace:

"That [1:15.915 pole lap time] in quali wasn't out of reach for us."

With confidence flowing from the Ferrari garage, the stage is set for an enthralling championship battle as the Scuderia aims to dethrone the all-conquering Red Bull outfit.