Leclerc experiences tire drop by lap 10
During the first stint, Ferrari drivers started on medium tires. In the opening laps, Charles Leclerc appeared to struggle more than his teammate in managing the tires, paying the price for an overly aggressive start. The Monegasque, running on average nine-tenths slower than George Russell, suffered from rear brake imbalance between the right and left sides, causing excessive overheating on the rear-left tire.
Charles Leclerc was able to match Oscar Piastri’s pace only for the first 10 laps, before slowing down between laps 17 and 19, just before the pit stop, losing nearly two seconds. For Lewis Hamilton, the first part of the race was slightly easier, thanks to a more controlled approach to bringing the tires up to temperature—a crucial aspect for extracting performance from the compound.
Hamilton ran about a tenth slower than his teammate, with his engineers asking him to manage tire usage carefully through the final two corners to reduce slippage and maintain temperature control. Observing the race pace at the front, it was evident that Antonelli struggled to extract the real performance of the W15.
The Italian driver was seven-tenths slower than his teammate while trapped behind Leclerc. Russell experienced minimal degradation at the front while on the medium tires, consistently running faster than everyone during the middle stint. George only saw a drop in tire performance after lap 18, as he focused on building a gap over Max Verstappen while managing his compounds.
Conversely, the reigning world champion struggled with a tire unsuited to the early phase of the race, experiencing excessive wear on the soft tires from the outset. Red Bull’s strategy might have worked, but the attempt failed. Max, running on average half a second slower than Russell, had to pit earlier than planned and abandon any hopes of glory in Singapore.
Severe degradation for Leclerc
The second half of the race remained largely static, with positions after the start unchanged. The pit stop cycle offered no opportunity for undercuts or overcuts. Even in the second stint, as in the first, Charles Leclerc was once again blocked by an overheating car. Running on hard tires, he was about seven-tenths slower than Russell.
Meanwhile, the pit wall constantly instructed him to increase lift-and-coast to manage the brakes. Only in the latter part of the stint did the Ferrari driver push again, once temperatures stabilized. This phase lasted only a few laps. Antonelli finished the stint three-tenths faster than Charles Leclerc, as the Italian talent was held up by Charles, who had to create a gap to manage temperature.
Lewis Hamilton managed his tires effectively after his pit stop, suffering fewer temperature-related issues throughout the stint. As shown by degradation graphs, the Englishman experienced far less wear than his teammate. Charles Leclerc, in the final phase, struggled to maintain consistent lap times due to position swaps, lapped traffic, overheated brakes, and worn tires.
Lewis’ brakes on fire
At the end of the race, Hamilton made an additional stop, attempting to gain a tire advantage over Antonelli and Leclerc for the final laps. The strategy was working well until he was forced to slow due to brakes overheating. Up to that point, on red tires, he had been the fastest driver on track, but increasing the pace proved fatal for the SF-25.
During this phase, Max Verstappen struggled with a poorly balanced car. Excessive tire wear made the RB21 unstable under braking due to reduced grip. To compensate, the Dutchman adjusted brake balance. Behind him, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were quicker but could not overtake, thanks to Max’s outstanding defensive driving.
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