Leclerc fumes at Verstappen's former teammate: 'Is he still driving for Red Bull?'

The Ferrari driver found himself in pursuit of Verstappen during the final laps at Marina Bay, with the Dutchman leading the race for Red Bull. However, Leclerc's attempt to close the gap suffered a setback on lap 57 when he encountered Perez in the second sector.

Despite receiving five blue flags, the Mexican did not move aside until the fifth warning, forcing Leclerc to remain behind him and costing the Ferrari driver approximately six tenths of a second compared to Verstappen.

Although the gap between the two leaders was already considerable given the limited number of laps remaining, Leclerc was clearly unimpressed by the delay. The Monegasque responded with a sarcastic remark over team radio, referring to Perez's previous association with Red Bull.

"Is Perez still driving for Red Bull?" Leclerc ironically asked. The comment was particularly pointed given that Perez now races for Cadillac, having previously been Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull. While the Mexican's delay was unintentional, it effectively handed his former teammate a small advantage at a crucial stage of the race.

Leclerc's pursuit of Verstappen came during a race in which Ferrari also faced questions over its handling of Lewis Hamilton's strategy.

The Scuderia intended to bring both drivers into the pits when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed on lap 39 following Lance Stroll's retirement. Leclerc followed the instruction and switched to fresh soft tyres, while Hamilton missed the pit entry and subsequently opted to remain on track.

That decision proved costly for the seven-time world champion, who completed a 44-lap stint on the soft compound after fitting the tyres on lap 19. His pace dropped significantly towards the end, allowing Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to overtake him.

Speaking to the media, including GPblog, after the race, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur firmly defended the team's strategy following Hamilton's decision to remain on track. The Frenchman insisted that the instruction to pit was clearly communicated to the seven-time world champion, who subsequently accepted responsibility for the mistake.

Vasseur explained that Ferrari wanted to bring Hamilton in because the team was concerned about whether his tyres would last until the end of the race. Although he acknowledged that staying out ultimately proved to be the wrong decision, he also stressed the importance of listening to drivers when making strategic calls, given their ability to assess tyre conditions and the behaviour of the car from the cockpit.