Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc has provided insight into the “vital” power unit issue he grappled with during the final stages of the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay street circuit, which was won by his Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz.
During those final four laps in Singapore, Charles Leclerc faced a daunting engine problem, resulting in a 17-second deficit to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with a mere two-tenths of a second separating them as they crossed the finish line, securing fourth place also thanks to a mistake made by George Russell who crashed on the final lap.
The Monegasque driver disclosed that his SF-23 car had started to overheat, compelling him to ease off the accelerator and cautiously navigate towards the checkered flag.
“It was all about bringing the car to the end, the car was overheating, everywhere” – the Ferrari man explained following the events which took place at the Marina Bay street circuit – “So the pace was not representative. It was all about bringing the car home, but before that, the pace was good. It was good race management from the team. [It was] mostly engine, we knew that this was critical. I also was aware that Singapore is always critical for the race.” – he pointed out.
At the outset of the race, Charles Leclerc had surged into second place, successfully overtaking the Mercedes of George Russell at the first corner, helped by the Soft tires mounted in the first stint on his Ferrari SF-23 car. However, his fortunes took a downturn during the pit stop phase when he was detained in his pit box for a few seconds to allow other cars to pass by.
“I think we did really good race management overall. The Softs, that’s exactly what we wanted to do to take the position to George [Russell], try and create the gap for [team-mate] Carlos [Sainz] to be able to stop one lap later than me without losing the lead. That’s exactly what we did, unfortunately, with the Safety Car, that put me on the back foot because I had to lose four or five positions because of that.” – Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc concluded at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix.
