Mercedes had a low-key test at Sakhir in terms of outright pace, but the Brackley team topped the times in FP2, with Lewis Hamilton ahead of George Russell.
Carlos Sainz was fourth for Ferrari, 0.395s down on pacesetter Hamilton, while Leclerc made a mistake on his quick lap and thus did not set a representative time in ninth.
However, the Monegasque driver believes that the team is in a good position.
“It felt alright, again no big surprises at least on our side, so that is a good thing again,” said Leclerc on Thursday evening. “No bad surprises, no good surprises either, just exactly as we expected the car to be.
“In FP2 I made a small mistake on my fast lap. It’s a one-lap tyre, so that was it. But apart from that it's all about tomorrow now, trying to focus to do a step forward.
“Mercedes looks strong, which is a bit of a surprise, but we don't know with what fuel(load) they are running. So I think we'll have all our answers tomorrow."
Leclerc acknowledged that the SF-24 showed promise over a long run.
Source: Autosport