At the Marina Bay street circuit, we see a Ferrari that you wouldn’t expect. The circuit hosting the Singapore Grand Prix is one of the most favorable in terms of characteristics for the SF-23, but while one can hope to do well relative to seasonal standards, dominating both of Friday’s free practice sessions is another matter.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. took turns setting the fastest times in the two sessions. At the end of the day, the native of Monte Carlo said he was surprised by the Reds’ strong performance but also emphasized the need to stay grounded because the competition will be tough and highly competitive.
“Yes, we are surprised, but we won’t get carried away. It’s only Friday, and we expect the other teams to show their true potential tomorrow. We can’t let ourselves get carried away, but it’s true that we didn’t expect this kind of performance, at least on a Friday. It’s a good start, but now we need to focus on ourselves and hope to do just as well tomorrow.”
Ferrari changed its approach to the balance of the SF-23 compared to what was done at Monza, and the results came immediately. It’s a different approach that needs to be confirmed tomorrow, in one of the most important qualifying sessions of the season.
“The feelings were good right from the start. It’s been a big change compared to Monza, where I had a pretty difficult car to drive on Friday, but we’ve learned from that. We’ve chosen the opposite path, and the balance has been excellent right away, so I’m very happy with the change in approach, and it’s positive to start the weekend with a Friday like this, but once again, we need to step it up for tomorrow, so that’s where we’re currently focusing all our efforts, and we’ll see what we can do.”
Qualifying at Marina Bay holds significant importance, as is often the case on city circuits. Overtaking opportunities will be scarce, and starting from the front row, or better yet, pole position, will be crucial for Ferrari’s chances of success.
Charles Leclerc knows well that Singapore represents a great opportunity to avoid a winless season. For this reason, tomorrow he will try to put everything together, be the protagonist of a near-perfect lap, and then achieve his goal, giving him a good chance of success in two days.
“It’s always very difficult to put together a lap here, for many reasons: it’s extremely hot, the tires overheat excessively, the car isn’t the same from the first to the last sector, so you have to adapt very quickly. But it’s one of my favorite tracks of the season, and I can’t wait for tomorrow, with little fuel, to reach the night and push like crazy.” – he pointed out.
“It will definitely be a battle, although I expect the others to be much faster tomorrow, so we’ll see. I hope there won’t be any unpleasant surprises, that we’ll be less competitive than we think at the moment, but for now, everything looks good, so I hope it will be the same tomorrow,” concluded Charles Leclerc.
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