Lando Norris dominated the Singapore Grand Prix weekend in his McLaren, securing a commanding victory. From the moment practice began on Friday, he appeared poised for an impressive performance. However, early signs suggested that Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari could challenge Norris’ ambitions. On that first day, Ferrari looked like a strong contender, while Red Bull seemed surprisingly off pace.
Things changed for Ferrari on Saturday, as track conditions highlighted the car’s tendency to struggle with front tyre performance. During FP3, Charles Leclerc went wide at Turn 2 during his qualifying simulation lap. Realizing his front tyres hadn’t reached optimal temperature, he converted the lap into an additional warm-up. While this strategy brought the front tyres up to temperature, it also caused the rear tyres to overheat before the flying lap could be completed.
This imbalance between the front and rear tyre temperature showed how sensitive Ferrari’s car was. Heading into Q3, Ferrari aimed to be the last of the top teams to hit the track, as they all waited in the garages, assessing the best moment for their final run.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz timed their exit to perfection, but the plan backfired. By pulling over in the dummy start area to allow others to go ahead, they sacrificed crucial tyre temperature. As a result, the Spaniard spun on his out-lap due to cold rear tyres, losing control over a bump and crashing into the barriers, triggering a red flag.
Carlos Sainz was left without a lap time, and when the session resumed, while his Maranello teammate had time for only one lap. Unfortunately, he repeated his FP3 mistake, running wide at Turn 2 as his front tyres again failed to reach the right temperature. The compromised lap, which would have only placed him seventh, was then deleted for a track limits violation, leaving both Ferraris starting from the fifth row.
On Sunday, Charles Leclerc delivered a solid recovery drive, finishing fifth. However, he was well behind Verstappen in second, and even further from Norris, who cruised to victory.
Ferrari therefore fails what cand be considered as a true maturity test in the Singapore Grand Prix at the 4.94-kilometre Marina Bay Street Circuit. A terrible Saturday distorts all the reasoning for Sunday, where a great race on a street circuit is not enough to make up for it. According to former Ferrari driver Ivan Capelli from Sky Sport Italia, the Scuderia lacks continuity: “Ferrari’s regret is starting from the 5th row. They found a group of drivers who were racing at a slower pace, losing thirty seconds to the top teams, which is the gap Leclerc had. This is a track where overtaking is impossible, just look at Leclerc at the end with Russell, who didn’t even have a chance. Ferrari is missing the continuity that McLaren is managing to figure out. Formula 1 is so competitive in every aspect, and if you mess up a qualifying session, you throw away an entire race. This is something you can’t afford if you want to compete in a championship.” – the former Formula 1 driver concluded.
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