Charles Leclerc had to settle for second place at the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix after pushing Max Verstappen to the absolute limit under the Marina Bay lights. Although Scuderia Ferrari put up a valiant fight, high tyre degradation and an aggressive safety car pit strategy ultimately left the Monegasque driver running out of rubber in the closing laps.
Starting from the front row alongside the polesitter, Leclerc applied relentless pressure throughout the opening stint. However, managing the delicate Pirelli compounds proved challenging, forcing the Maranello squad into a divergent tactical gamble to chase track position against their Red Bull rival.
Speaking with Jenson Button immediately after stepping out of the cockpit, Leclerc broke down how a promising opening phase unravelled into severe tyre management. He admitted that he believed in the alternate strategy until the very end, despite having to push hard immediately after the restart.
'Yeah, we were quite strong at the beginning of the race, then we started degrading a little bit more in the first stint, but then we did a slightly different strategy to Max with the safety car,' Leclerc explained.
Despite comfortably holding off Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli to secure a vital points haul, Leclerc remained realistic about the competitive landscape. When asked if the close finish proved Ferrari had completely erased its performance deficit, the Ferrari driver offered a candid assessment regarding their ongoing pace gap.
According to Motorsport.com, Leclerc acknowledged that while small new parts brought to the car helped deliver a step forward, the team still needs to introduce further upgrades to consistently match Red Bull at the front of the field.
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