Charles Leclerc admits he misread Max Verstappen’s deployment issues at the start of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, accepting that this crucial oversight may have cost him a shot at victory at Marina Bay.
The Ferrari driver came close to snatching the lead from Verstappen off the line and pressured the Red Bull star during the early stages. However, the reigning world champion's pace proved too strong over the opening stint, allowing Verstappen to cruise to his maiden victory at the venue while Leclerc consolidated second place by pitting for fresh soft tyres under a late Virtual Safety Car.
Reflecting on the opening laps, Leclerc confessed he mistakenly believed Verstappen's power hiccups were isolated incidents, choosing to conserve his battery rather than force an aggressive overtaking maneuver.
"I mean, you don't have much time to think in those moments," Leclerc said regarding the tense start. "I just saw that Max had a bit of a difficult start. I had quite a good start, so I went alongside him. Then there wasn't much space anymore, but I would have done exactly the same. And yeah, then it's quite tricky. I mean, I was on the left, a little bit behind him, couldn't see the panels on the right, so you lose a little bit all your references, because that's normally on the right that you have your references to brake. I tried to judge it in the best possible way, but Max managed to keep that first place."
Elaborating on the missed opportunities, the Ferrari star explained how his hesitation sealed his fate. "And then there were a few opportunities in the first few laps when Max had a deployment issue, but I always thought that it was a one-off, so I wasn't really using my battery, which maybe this was a mistake. And when I realised that he had no power at the end of the straight, I couldn't do anything. It was too late for me to use my power. But I don't know if it will have changed much. Maybe, of course, for the first stint it will have helped, but I think eventually they just had too much pace for us."
Securing second place marked Leclerc's first podium appearance since the Belgian Grand Prix in July, yet the Monegasque driver remains cautious about projecting this momentum forward given the competitive fluctuations of recent rounds.
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