Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc revealed his expectations for the 2025 F1 Singapore GP during Thursday’s press conference. The Monegasque driver addressed performance predictions, heat hazard preparations, and the impact of pit stop time reductions ahead of the demanding Marina Bay street race.
High-downforce circuit performance
The Ferrari driver gave a frank assessment about Ferrari’s competitiveness at a high-downforce circuit like Marina Bay. When asked what he and the Maranello-based team could expect from the 2025 F1 Singapore GP, Leclerc was pragmatic, noting that the team’s troubles in Baku could follow them into this weekend.
“I don’t think we can expect any miracles,” Leclerc explained. “I don’t think we were, I mean, again in Baku, I don’t think we were uncompetitive. We didn’t do a good job in qualifying and we failed to put everything together and to put a lap in Q3, obviously, but I don’t think we expect to be more competitive here.“
“I think it should be similar to Baku,” he said. “If anything, I feel like McLaren will have even more of an advantage on a track like this, so we might be a bit further away to McLaren. However, compared to our main competitors, which are Mercedes, we should be in a better place if it stays warm, which I think it will.“
A precedent set in Hungary
Leclerc’s expectations for the 2025 F1 Singapore GP were similar to his for the recent Hungarian GP where he claimed a surprise pole position despite seeming pessimistic earlier in the weekend. Leclerc reflected on those particular circumstances during the press conference, though he remained overall realistic, despite that precedent.
“Well, I hope the same happens,” he said, referring to his pole position. “But in Hungary, it’s a session I still struggle to understand. There were swings of seven tenths from Q1 to Q2 to Q3, and nobody really understood that session.“
“To be on pole on such a difficult session was nice, but I don’t expect the conditions to be the same this weekend. It’s unlikely, but I’ll do everything to reproduce that. That would be amazing, but it’s unlikely.“
Heat hazard preparations
Leclerc also addressed the FIA’s heat hazard declaration and his preparation for the difficult conditions expected over the 2025 F1 Singapore GP weekend.
“I didn’t change my physical preparation for the weekend,” Leclerc stated. “Yes, we are doing… at least on my side, yes, I do things a bit more specific for Singapore, but my goal is to be as fit as possible from the first race to the last race.”
He did, however, emphasise that his preparation for Singapore did not significantly differ from that for other races, with the exception of some sauna sessions. Having previously raced at the Marina Bay Circuit, Leclerc does not expect himself to be disadvantaged but the upcoming weekend’s conditions, noting that the 2024 race, like those before it, had been demanding but “doable.”
“It’s not like I start training more for Singapore because I’m training as hard as I can over the season. Maybe you do some sauna sessions before Singapore, which helps acclimation with the heat. The only thing that changes with what the FIA announced is we now have the choice to run the cooling vest, which is something we’ll consider and keep in mind throughout free practices in case it’s way too warm in the car.”
“I don’t expect this weekend to be harder than last year, and last year was very warm and very tough, but it was still doable. It’s something I will keep in mind for sure.“
Pit stop time impact on strategy
The Ferrari driver also gave his thoughts on how the increased pitlane speed limit could affect the race. When asked about the potential four-second reduction per stop associated with the increased 80 km/h limit, Leclerc echoed thoughts by VCARB driver Isack Hadjar, stating that he expects faster pitstops but refraining from definitively identifying any notable effects to his strategic approach.
“I agree 100% with Isack! It will be faster,” he said. “It will make the two-stop a little bit faster and closer to the one-stop. Whether it will change significantly the strategy, I don’t know.”
He emphasised that track characteristics remain key. Overtaking difficulty influences strategy more than pit stop speed alone.
“It remains a track where it’s difficult to overtake, so for that reason you don’t want to stop too often. We’ll see how it goes. It also depends on how much the tyre is degrading, and for now we don’t know yet.“
Leclerc’s expectations for the 2025 F1 Singapore GP demonstrate a driver remaining while preparing to maximise opportunities.
