After a tricky qualifying session at the Singapore F1 GP and having given it his all, Charles Leclerc shares how he experienced the session from under the helmet and his reaction to George Russell’s surprise pole position.
Problems without a solution for the car’s consistency
Charles Leclerc seemed frustrated after the qualification. Ferrari’s weekend has been marked by inconsistency in their car. The Monégasque tried to find it; however, it was impossible as it was unpredictable with under and oversteer.
Leclerc tried to turn things around with a plan he himself described as “a bit stupid,” but it didn’t have much effect.
“After a couple of days, it doesn’t seem to break down so easily. We never found a solution, unfortunately. I tried to find consistency in that car throughout the whole weekend and there was no way out”.
“At the end, in Q3, I just said, OK, let’s try something a little bit stupid with the front wing, try and rotate the car. Anyway, it’s unpredictable with understeer, it will still be unpredictable with oversteer, but at least I prefer that. I managed to do a good lap on the Scrub, but then with the new one, the feeling was completely different”.
Races meant to shine that end in disaster.
F1 Singapore GP and Azerbaijan GP are both races where the Italian team and Charles Leclerc himself were used to shine, so for them this past weekend had been a bad surprise.
“Very surprising. Whether it’s Baku or Singapore, these are two of my favourite tracks of the season where I’ve been performing particularly well and also as a team we’ve performed particularly well. And these last two weekends have been off pace”.
Charles Leclerc admitted his growing frustration after qualifying, explaining that even adding more front wing hadn’t improved the car’s behavior. He confessed it’s disheartening to deliver a strong lap only to end up sixth or seventh, while a small mistake in Q1 can mean immediate elimination.
Leclerc acknowledged that Ferrari is in a difficult moment, one he doesn’t enjoy, but emphasized his commitment to keep giving his best and help bring the team back to the top, despite how tough that challenge currently feels.
“Yeah, more front wing, but it didn’t really help it. It’s the frustration building, Charles, that you just cannot seem to get the car that you really want now. For sure”.
“I mean, it’s not a nice feeling that when you put a really good lap in, you are P6, P7. When you do a small mistake in Q1, you are out in Q1. And this is the kind of situation we’re in at the moment and it’s not something that I enjoy, but it’s a situation where anyway I need to give my best and try to bring back the team to the top”.
“But it’s not easy”.
Cooling system tests: promising idea, but not ready to be mandatory
Charles Leclerc acknowledged that the new cooling system is a good step forward, but warned that it’s not yet ready to be mandatory for all teams.
He explained that in some cases, once the ice melts, the system can actually make things worse by sending hot water through the vest, an uncomfortable experience for the driver.
Leclerc emphasized the need to ensure the system works properly before enforcing it across the grid, noting that most drivers share his view, though ultimately, the decision will rest with the FIA.
“I think it’s a good improvement. I don’t think the system is quite ready for any teams for it to be mandatory because it can have its downside and can actually feel worse in the car. In some scenarios where when the ice is gone, you have no cold water coming into your vest, but you’ve got hot water coming into your vest and it’s not a nice feeling”
“So yeah, before putting this thing mandatory, I think we need to make sure that everything is fine and that we don’t actually worsen the issue. But I think we are maybe all aligned, apart from one, but yeah, we are kind of all aligned into thinking that way. But at the end, it will be on the FIA taking the final decision”
Mercedes surprise of the day
The Ferrari driver admitted that the biggest surprise of qualifying at the Singapore GP was seeing Mercedes on pole, given their past struggles in hot conditions. He congratulated the team but noted that starting from P6 or P7, Ferrari may not be able to put much pressure on them during the race.
“And I think the biggest surprise is seeing Mercedes-Benz on pole where they struggled in the past on hot conditions and they come here and they put it on pole. So, yeah, congratulations to them and we’ll try to put them under pressure tomorrow, but I’m not sure that from P6 or P7 they’ll feel any kind of pressure”.
Changes to the mandatory cooling rules
When asked if the mandatory cooling system rule might be overturned for next season and left to driver preference, Charles Leclerc admitted he doesn’t have that impression yet.
He explained that there hasn’t been much time to discuss the issue in depth, though future conversations might offer a chance to reconsider the decision. For now, however, Leclerc doesn’t see any clear indication that the rule will change.
“I don’t have this feeling yet. Yeah, maybe it will change with more discussion. I know we didn’t have much time to discuss about it in detail yesterday, so I don’t think…”.
“Yeah, there’s nothing that makes me think it will change, but maybe in the other discussion we’ll have where we can go into more details, we can change that”.
“I’ll probably be wearing it to try it. At least you gain some laps before it’s becoming too hot. But at the end of the race, I might be even hotter than the drivers without, so it’s a bit of a balance you need to work”.
