“It’s frustrating. When we could run our own pace we weren’t bad, but you can’t race managing 95% of the time,” Fred Vasseur said in the post-race press conference, showing genuine frustration and disappointment for the first time. The Team Principal also confirmed that the team expected to manage temperatures during the race, but not to this extent. Reviewing team radio, lap times, and race progression, Ferrari was forced at times to be the slowest on track or match the pace of the slower cars to manage technical issues affecting the SF-25.
Leclerc and Hamilton: mere passengers maximizing the car
“Remember to do LiCo for brake temperatures”—this was the message repeatedly echoing in Charles Leclerc’s ears throughout the Singapore GP. The first message arrived not mid-race, but during the formation lap. The opening laps were initially left “free” to allow for defensive and offensive moves during the chaotic start, but within five laps, the Monegasque had to begin managing the car. Adjustments of 20 meters here, 30 meters there, including requests that are extreme by modern F1 standards, were communicated especially to Lewis Hamilton while he was behind Kimi Antonelli during the first phase of a 100-meter Lift & Coast.
Everyone saw Antonelli’s overtake on Leclerc at the limit of Turn 16, where the Italian driver made the move decisively. While the overtake was impressive, from inside the cockpit it was likely easier than it appeared externally. Although Mercedes driver Antonelli’s aggression deserves recognition, it should be noted that Leclerc had to brake several meters earlier, easing off three-quarters down the straight due to LiCo restrictions, unable to brake aggressively. The overtake began while Antonelli was still accelerating, and after several laps of observing how much ground he gained under braking, he capitalized on Ferrari’s difficulties.
Fred Vasseur aptly called the situation frustrating, but imagine the drivers’ perspective. Leclerc was instructed to perform LiCo before the race and had to continue for practically the entire race—sometimes less, sometimes more, cooling either the rear or front, constantly adjusting. The Monegasque even asked for more updates during the race to understand what he needed to manage at each phase. At one point, he was asked if he wanted to pit for Soft tires, sacrificing two positions (one being Hamilton’s), to chase the cars ahead. Leclerc’s key response was, “Can I push then?” and the reply was, “We need to continue managing.” That answered everything: there was no point in putting on Soft tires if he couldn’t push. Later, he was allowed to gradually return to race pace for 4–5 laps before needing to resume LiCo management. Essentially, Leclerc had to be slow to reach the finish. He was penalized more than Hamilton because of his setup choices on the SF-25, which required even more management. “I’m not complaining, but **** we do 200 meters of LiCo every time,” Leclerc expressed in frustration during the race. His words and post-race demeanor spoke volumes.
As for Lewis Hamilton, he had to manage the car less severely than Leclerc but still performed LiCo and struggled with rear tires, forcing him to manage more and brake less aggressively. Post-race, Hamilton praised the team for daring to try a different strategy and noted that weekend operations were more challenging than the SF-25 itself. The seven-time world champion chose a two-stop strategy, allowing him to catch Antonelli and attempt an overtake. Unfortunately, at the critical moment, his brakes overheated after seven hard laps, followed by two slightly slower and two more hard laps. The left front brake overheated, forcing Hamilton to relinquish his overtaking attempt, be passed by his teammate, and then manage the gap to Fernando Alonso brilliantly, although he eventually incurred a penalty for track limits.
To grasp the scale of the issue: Hamilton lost over 30 seconds in the final four laps. He was barely braking, coasting and lightly applying throttle, needing to bring temperatures back to acceptable levels. When Alonso approached on the final lap, Hamilton could accelerate and brake for the last three or four corners, holding his position on track before the penalty. The two-stop strategy was valid, but it required a car capable of pushing. Meanwhile, somewhat understated, Leclerc remarked, “We lost 15 seconds in the last 10 laps.” The pace of the Ferrari number 16 was far slower than cars behind him, such as Hadjar, Bearman, Sainz, Alonso, and others. In short, Leclerc and Hamilton were two passengers in a Ferrari experiencing extreme difficulties. As Vasseur put it, “If we don’t solve the problems, fighting Red Bull and Mercedes for P2 will be difficult.”
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