The post was supposed to be of a completely different nature qualifications for Leclerc and Ferrari. Instead, the current situation sees the Monegasque and the Maranello team having to deal with a disappointing performance. This compromises tomorrow's Singapore GP which, barring any surprises, will not see the two reds fight for the victory.
Leclerc limited by tyre problems in Singapore GP qualifying
Charles Leclerc was only ninth in Q3 that took place on the night in Singapore. The Ferrari driver had left for the Marina Bay circuit with much higher expectations. After the historic victory achieved in Monza and the bittersweet second place obtained in Baku, comes a strong setback that has been missing for some time. Unfortunately, just now that the Italian team, after a solid continuity of useful results, was approaching the top of the constructors' standings. Instead, if on the one hand the rivals McLaren and Red Bull gave what they they had to, Ferrari collapsed. Probably in Q3 the car lacked a perfect balance, but, above all, the real problems concerned the temperature of the tyres.
After Carlos Sainz's accident and the subsequent red flag, with six minutes to go in Q3, no driver was about to take to the track. After a few minutes, the cars began to exit the pit lane, with Leclerc opting to leave his garage last. However, from the time the mechanics in red freed his tyres from the blankets to the time Leclerc managed to get back on track, more than 50 seconds had already passed. In fact, the Ferrari number 16 was slowed down by all the drivers pouring onto the track. And so probably, the time spent stuck in the pit lane behind Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin was decisive for Leclerc's tyre temperatures, forcing him to a gripless and hopeless lap.
Leclerc angry about what happened: "In Q3 we had the potential to finish first or second"
Not only did Charles Leclerc finish qualifying in a disappointing ninth position, he was also unable to set a valid time. In fact, the poor feeling he felt towards his tyres led the Monegasque to lock up in turn 1 on his flying lap, thus sliding his entire car over the white line that delimits the Marina Bay circuit. Lucidly, albeit angry, Leclerc reconstructed those moments to Mara Sangiorgio's microphones.Tires they weren't even 50% ready, we came out of the pits and the temperatures were way down. There was no way to warm them up. So I got to Turn 1 with a lock-up. From that moment on, disaster. They are very disappointed because we do all the preparation in the world to get to Q3 and do that lap and then we find ourselves with a problem like this".
Performance well below expectations, with Leclerc who, as mentioned, expects much more. "Today in Q3 we had the potential to be first and second. There was just some risk to take in Q3, but I couldn't take it. because the tires were not up to temperature“. Tomorrow’s race seems so compromised, so much so that Charles Leclerc, completely enraptured by the disappointment of Saturday, was unable to express an opinion on what to expect tomorrow. “I am very disappointed. So I prefer not to talk about tomorrow. We know that in Singapore it is all about qualifying, so there are few hopes of winning tomorrow. I will definitely have done a reset tomorrow and I will be back 100%. But now I'm really disappointed".
