Seeing such a strong Ferrari fighting desperately to secure fifth place is something that stirs frustration and agitation. From the moment Charles Leclerc fitted the Hard Pirelli tires, just after halfway through the race, his lap times were consistently the same or better than those of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. This suggests that if Charles had been ahead, he could have at least fought for second place, making life difficult for McLaren, or at the very least stayed close, waiting for an opportunity.
But no. The Ferrari that returns from Singapore with Charles Leclerc’s modest fifth place and Carlos Sainz’s even more modest seventh place is a Ferrari that leaves you speechless because it’s clear they threw away a golden opportunity. A bit like they did a week earlier in Baku, but in a different way. Here, Ferrari lost everything the day before when Carlos Sainz crashed immediately, and Charles Leclerc saw his best time, which wasn’t exceptional, canceled for exceeding track limits.
Both drivers blamed the cold tires: was it the Maranello team’s fault for poor tire preparation? The doubt lingers, heightened by Charles Leclerc’s comments, who, unprompted, sought to clear the team’s personnel from blame after the race.
In short, some mistakes were made at the very moment Ferrari should have taken advantage of the favorable circumstances, with Red Bull now playing defense, Mercedes stepping out of the spotlight, and McLaren often at risk of error, given Norris’s nervous fragility.
And here we come to the winner. Lando Norris is incredibly fast and talented. But his ‘mental endurance window’ is quite narrow at the moment. Those two light collisions with the barriers while he was leading are part of his growth process, which is slower compared to others, starting with his teammate Oscar Piastri. It’s not a tragedy—many have stumbled on their way to the top, and time will heal everything. Fortunately for Lando Norris, who dominated, nothing serious happened in the Singapore Grand Prix, aside from the scare he and the McLaren pit wall experienced.
Lando Norris beat Max Verstappen by a wide margin, and now the gap between the two is just 52 points. But Red Bull showed signs of response, no longer as passive as they were in Monza or Baku. In short, we’re in for an exciting final part of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, and now there’s plenty of time to enjoy a good coffee, as we’ll reconnect after the Austin Grand Prix in a month.
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