The Monegasque began the race strongly, immediately overtaking Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli. However, his pace gradually declined lap after lap. He could not match the speed of Oscar Piastri, who was ahead, and was forced to defend himself against repeated attacks from the Italian driver. It was only after the pit stops, with Antonelli showing significantly better pace, that the position was recovered. Ferrari also decided to swap positions between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with Hamilton now on a set of fresher red tires compared to Charles Leclerc’s older hard compounds.
It was only in the final laps, as Hamilton struggled with severe brake issues, that Charles Leclerc regained the position. The disappointment was immense for the Monegasque, who confirmed that he had faced the same brake problems as his seven-time world champion teammate. “I think in the last laps we lost about 15 seconds to the leaders, but that doesn’t fully reflect the reality. I had to manage the brakes throughout the entire race, and it was far from ideal,” Charles Leclerc explained.
“All of us had to do it given the temperatures, but for us, it was really extreme, especially towards the end. From the first lap to the last, after the initial overtakes, it was an incredibly tough race,” he added, highlighting the challenges Ferrari faced throughout the 62-lap Marina Bay battle.
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