That wild Bahrain GP is already behind us, and Formula 1 now faces a brutal test on the streets of Singapore. As FormulaUno.it reports, this Asian street circuit is always a beast—demanding precision mere centimeters from concrete walls alongside punishing atmospheric conditions. But this year brings a wild new variable: the first-ever Sprint race at this venue. Teams and drivers are forced to dial in their machines with just a single practice session.
Meeting the media on Thursday, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc laid bare the realities of the SF-26. When asked if having just one practice session plays into their hands because the car often starts weekends strongly, Leclerc poured cold water on the idea.
"I don't know if we're necessarily that strong on Friday," Leclerc said. "I mean, we are, but I think it depends mostly on the engine modes others use. As soon as qualifying starts, they have something extra that we currently lack. So I expect the same thing to happen here. In FP1 we might be slightly more competitive compared to our rivals, who however have an ace up their sleeve for qualifying that we currently do not possess. However, one of our strengths as a team is having a well-balanced car right from the start; an aspect that we can certainly exploit to our advantage during a Sprint Race. It remains to be seen if it will be enough to win. The pure performance of the car, lately, has been quite disappointing compared to the competition. So we'll see where we are after FP1."
Digging deeper into the machine's behavior, Leclerc highlighted a fascinating duality. The correlation between the simulator and the real track has been brilliant in recent weeks. That preparation lets them hit the paddock with a well-balanced setup that feels immediately comfortable, meaning the setup itself isn't wrong.
Unfortunately, pushing the balance to a more extreme window will not buy them a single millisecond. "Simply, we lack a bit of pure performance," he admitted.
Aside from the engineering puzzle, the sheer heat and humidity of Singapore remain absolute monsters for the human body. Cooling vests have offered some relief, though Leclerc noted they only work for fifteen or twenty laps before warming up. While every driver on the grid is fit enough to finish the race, staying one hundred percent sharp in the final stages while completely dehydrated is remarkably tough.
Looking further ahead, this weekend's single-practice Sprint format also serves as a dress rehearsal for what is coming at Monte Carlo in 2027. While two qualifying sessions sound great, Leclerc questioned the wisdom of having two races in Monaco, predicting an extremely complicated weekend even harsher than this one. For now, though, it is strictly one step at a time.
