Kieran is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs and feature content across the F1 calendar. An NQJ-qualified journalist with more than a decade of experience, he has previously written for publications including MailOnline, the Manchester Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press.
David Coulthard has accused Charles Leclerc of “bottling it” during his battle with Max Verstappen at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix.
Leclerc reacted quickest when the lights went out and came close to drawing alongside the polesitter as they headed towards Turn 1. But Verstappen moved across to defend the inside, and Leclerc backed out of the move rather than risk a collision.
Speaking in commentary for F1TV, Coulthard criticised Leclerc for lacking the bravery to commit to a move on Verstappen when he felt the opportunity was there.
He said: “Both Jolyon (Palmer) and I are looking at each other thinking, ‘How did Verstappen hold that? Leclerc is probably thinking the same, he did all the hard work off the line but somehow bottled it.”
Leclerc admits one Singapore GP regret
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Speaking after the Singapore Grand Prix, Leclerc admitted that he wishes that he was not more 'aggressive' into Turn 1 against Verstappen.
“We were quite strong at the beginning of the race, then we started degrading a bit more in the first stint,” Leclerc explained. “Then we did a slightly different strategy to Max with the [Virtual] Safety Car.
“I believed in it until the very end, but I pushed a lot at the beginning of that last stint and degraded a bit more than the others. I gave it all and I don’t regret anything. I don’t think there was much more to do today apart from maybe [be] a bit more aggressive at the start. That’s the way it is.”
Leclerc also found himself in a battle with teammate Lewis Hamilton during the middle of the race. Hamilton, on better tyres at the time, expressed frustration about being stuck behind his teammate.
Ultimately, Leclerc finished a long way ahead of his teammate, as he made the right decision to pit again under a VSC, while Hamilton slipped to sixth on old soft tyres after not making a second stop.
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