Charles Leclerc claimed second place at the Singapore Grand Prix, finishing seven seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen, but acknowledged that Ferrari remain short of the pace needed to challenge for victories despite a positive weekend for the Monegasque driver.
Leclerc pressured Verstappen at the start, nearly snatching the lead at lights out before being squeezed to the inside and aborting the move. He remained behind the Red Bull driver throughout the opening stint as his tyre performance faded, eventually pitting at the end of Lap 24 to hold position ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was unable to find a way past.
A Virtual Safety Car period gave Ferrari the opportunity to pit Leclerc again for fresh tyres, allowing him to reclaim second place from Hamilton. He held that position to the flag.
“We were quite strong at the beginning of the race, then we started degrading a bit more in the first stint,” Leclerc said. “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.”
Despite the podium finish, Leclerc was candid about Ferrari’s limitations. His post-race radio included an admission that the team “just weren’t fast enough,” though he acknowledged the value of their strategic approach, saying: “At least we tried something different.”
The result ended a podium drought for Leclerc stretching back to Round 10 in Belgium and came on the back of a top-three finish in Saturday’s Sprint, making it a strong overall weekend. However, he stood firm on his recent assessment of Ferrari’s competitiveness.
“I still feel that way,” he said when asked whether he maintained his view on the team’s loss of pace. “However, it’s true that we brought some small new parts to the car which maybe helped us to do another step forward. It’s not enough. We’ll push to the end and we’ve still got to bring some new things to the car to be at the level.”