Charles Leclerc squeezed absolutely everything out of his Ferrari to snatch second place at the Singapore Grand Prix, crossing the line seven seconds behind Max Verstappen. It was a stunning drive, even if the machine underneath him simply lacked the raw pace to truly challenge for the win.
Off the line, Leclerc went for it. He nearly claimed the lead from Max Verstappen at lights out, but he was squeezed to the inside and had to bail out of the move. That forced him to tuck in right behind the Dutchman for the entirety of the opening stint. The early pressure he applied faded as his tyres wore down, prompting a pit stop at the end of Lap 24 that just barely kept him ahead of team mate Lewis Hamilton, who was left frustrated in his attempts to find a way through.
A Virtual Safety Car later in the race threw a lifeline, allowing fresh tyres to be bolted on. Ferrari helped him reclaim second place from Hamilton, and Leclerc held that position all the way to the checkered flag. "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."
Reflecting on the afternoon, the Monegasque driver had zero hesitation about his approach. "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."
While his post-race radio message included an admission that Ferrari "just weren't fast enough," Leclerc also seemed satisfied with their alternative strategy as he stated: "At least we tried something different." The result marks his first Grand Prix podium since Round 10 in Belgium, rounding out a wholly positive weekend after he similarly placed in the top three during Saturday's Sprint.
Asked whether he stands by previous comments relating to Ferrari's loss of pace in recent rounds, Leclerc said: "I still feel that way. 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. I think today we had good pace overall."
