Breaking news
Formula 1 Singapore GP
Leclerc understood Ferrari call "a lot more" after Singapore GP
Charles Leclerc will seek more information from his Ferrari Formula 1 team in future races and understood his "very frustrating" Singapore Grand Prix defeat "a lot more" afterwards.
Scott Mitchell
Edited: Sep 23, 2019, 1:40 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Leclerc lost a third straight F1 win after Ferrari pit teammate Sebastian Vettel first in the Singapore GP, to try to get Vettel ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton into second place, and an unexpected 3.9-second gain on fresh tyres allowed Vettel to jump Leclerc as well.
Leclerc said Vettel's one-lap "undercut" was not planned before the race and this "will be one of the discussions too, to try and understand why we didn't speak about that situation before".
He said in the future he will make sure he is better informed during the race itself.
"I don't think I could have done much things better or differently," he said. "The only thing, probably, is I will ask a bit more about the strategy around me.
"Because I was not aware [Vettel was going to pit earlier], so I don't know if I should have pushed a bit earlier during my first stint. I don't know, we have plenty of data anyway and I will analyse it."
Read Also:
- Ferrari considered Vettel/Leclerc swap in Singapore
- Singapore GP: Vettel beats Leclerc to end victory drought
Leclerc stressed that it was unlikely he would have been able to react with a faster in-lap had Ferrari predicted he would be racing his teammate for the lead.
"At that time obviously the tyres were quite dead but probably before I had quite a lot of margin," he said.
"In the first few laps, obviously we wanted to go as slow as we possibly could for the guys behind to not have the window to pit.
"In that period I could have done a much better job but I stick to the plan and I think that's what helped us to do one-two today."
Leclerc decried the situation as "unfair" during the grand prix and said in the official FIA press conference after the race that although he had started to "see things maybe a bit differently, I still need some explanations just to understand fully why this decision was taken".
Ferrari did not have time to complete a full post-race debrief before Leclerc addressed written media on Sunday evening, as its drivers had been speaking to TV crews and then participating in the FIA press conference.
However, Leclerc had already cooled down further, and accepted Ferrari's admission that it was "surprised by how powerful the undercut was" for Vettel, as Ferrari expected Leclerc to rejoin in the lead.
"As I said in the car it was very frustrating, but now out of the car I understand a lot more the whole situation," said Leclerc.
"I am extremely happy for the whole team, very happy for Seb too. He deserves it, and now we'll move forward.
"Obviously I wish I was one step higher [on the podium], but it's part of life sometimes it goes that way and I'll bounce back stronger in Russia [next weekend]."
For PRIME users:
- The soul-searching that led to Ferrari’s drastic turnaround
- How a bad qualifying lap put Vettel on pole for Singapore win
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Verstappen: Singapore a "wake-up call" for Red Bull
Next article Singapore GP result "damage limitation" for Renault
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Mitchell
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Formula 1
Formula 1
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Formula 1
Formula 1
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Formula 1
Formula 1
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
More from
Charles Leclerc
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
3 h
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
More from
Ferrari
Why Ferrari failed to deliver on its hype in F1's United States GP qualifying
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Why Ferrari failed to deliver on its hype in F1's United States GP qualifying
F1 United States GP: Lewis Hamilton pips Max Verstappen in FP3
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
F1 United States GP: Lewis Hamilton pips Max Verstappen in FP3
Latest news
Manthey acknowledges IMSA to be "tougher than expected" despite two wins
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 3 h
Manthey acknowledges IMSA to be "tougher than expected" despite two wins
How a philosophy shift brought BMW to new heights in 2026
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 3 h
How a philosophy shift brought BMW to new heights in 2026
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
3 h
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship
ARCA
ARCA ARCA 5 h
Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe