Charles Leclerc has sought to water Ferrari’s expectations of victory following a strong showing in FP2 for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari emerged as the closest challengers to Lando Norris and McLaren in FP2.
A potential titanic battle between two of F1’s most historic teams is a very real possibility.
Speaking after Friday’s sessions, Leclerc played down his performance in practice.
He stated Friday acted as a “starting point” for the weekend ahead, adding “it felt good, but there’s still some work to be done. The car didn’t exactly feel like I want it.
“So yeah, we still have to try and improve it and of course, the forecast for the rest of the weekend is a little bit up and down so we’ll have to adapt very quickly.
“So again, we cannot rely on a good Friday, but it’s been a good Friday and it’s always better to have a good one than a bad one. So it’s a good starting point but we still have to push forward.”
Pole position possible for Ferrari
Singapore has historically been a happy hunting ground for Ferrari.
Carlos Sainz took victory last year, in a win that ended Max Verstappen’s record-breaking run of 10 consecutive victories.
Leclere, meanwhile, has previously taken two pole positions. He has yet to convert these to wins.
When asked what work was needed on the car, Leclerc evaded naming specific improvements but said pole position was achievable: “Just a bit more balance in the car, putting everything together in terms of driving and then we should be in a good place for tomorrow.
“I think we are in the mix, but let’s see if… Yeah I just hope the picture doesn’t change much for tomorrow.
“I would be very surprised if we have the same advantage that we had today, the same gap from me to the third place. I really believe that it will be much tighter tomorrow.
“So, then we’ll have to understand if it changes the pecking order or not.”
Carlos Sainz struggles to match Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc with brake problems
Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz endured a more difficult Friday afternoon session.
Hindered by brake issues throughout FP2, he finished a distant third, over half a second behind Norris and Leclerc, Sainz never seeming at one with his SF-24 on Friday.
The Spaniard revealed the issues related to problems that have plagued the Scuderia all season.
He also admitted to having dented confidence as he seeks to repeat his victory from 12 months ago:
“It’s been a bit of a topic this year in our team that we’re running through some brake issues normally on Friday and today was my turn to face them with a lot of inconsistency on the brakes,” the Spaniard said.
“All throughout FP2, especially cooldown laps, out laps, we were having plenty of issues out there which doesn’t help the confidence and the preparation for the weekend.
“Whenever we were not having these issues and having some clean laps we were quite quick out there.
“So it’s not something that concerns me if we manage to put everything together tomorrow.”
Despite his challenges, when asked, Sainz maintained he can still win at Singapore, taking a different approach to Leclerc’s watered-down expectations.
“I think we have a strong enough car to be in the fight,” he said.
“Lando seems very quick also and I think Red Bull and Mercedes are still still yet to show up in their hands.
“So I think we’re on for another interesting weekend.”
