Tobia is a Formula 1 journalist at GPblog with experience at international circuits. Since 2022, he has covered Grands Prix across Europe, delivering reliable coverage and insights from the paddock.
Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari had the pace to challenge Max Verstappen for pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix, despite struggling with braking issues throughout qualifying. The Monegasque also revealed that an incorrect front-wing setting in Q3 contributed to the narrow margin separating him from the Red Bull driver.
Verstappen claimed his 50th career pole position with a lap of 1:31.373, narrowly beating Leclerc by just 0.054 seconds. The Ferrari driver secured second place with a 1:31.427, coming agonisingly close to denying the Dutchman the top spot on the grid.
Leclerc reveals braking problems during Singapore qualifying
Leclerc's second-place finish came after a difficult qualifying session in which he struggled to find confidence in his Ferrari, particularly under braking. The problems affected his performance in both Q1 and Q2, before he managed to put together a competitive lap in the final stages of Q3.
Speaking after qualifying, Leclerc admitted that the session was far from straightforward: "The good lap was on the right lap at the end, but I had a lot of struggles during this qualifying. Q1 and Q2 were very difficult."
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The Ferrari driver revealed that his car behaved unpredictably under braking, making it particularly difficult to push the limits around the narrow Marina Bay circuit: "The car was pulling to one side under braking, which is quite uncomfortable on a track like this."
Leclerc further described how the issue affected his confidence when approaching the braking zones, particularly when attempting to extract the maximum performance from his Ferrari in Q3: "The car seemed to want to go straight on under braking. So in Q3, trying to brake five to ten metres later with a car that doesn't give you confidence under braking isn't ideal."
Those difficulties also affected his final flying lap, with time lost at the Turn 13 hairpin and a cautious approach to braking for the Turn 16-17 chicane contributing to the small gap separating him from Verstappen.
Leclerc admits misjudgement with the wing
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Leclerc also revealed that Ferrari made very few changes to his car following Friday's running, although he acknowledged that the team did not get everything right when it came to the front-wing settings in Q3.
"At the end of the day, it was just a bit of misjudgement in Q3 with the wing. Maybe we could have done a bit of a better job, but I think if you ask all the drivers on the grid, everybody can find something on that last lap in Q3."
Ferrari ultimately missed out on pole position with both drivers, although their qualifying sessions unfolded differently. Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets in Q1 and Q2 before dropping to third in the final segment, with the seven-time world champion also pointing to a front-wing adjustment as a decisive factor.
Hamilton explained that even the smallest setup changes could have a significant impact on the car's performance, making it particularly difficult to find the ideal balance.
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