Ferrari decided before qualifying to sacrifice second-place car in Singapore GP

Ferrari approached the Singapore Grand Prix intending to use whichever of its cars qualified second to maximise the other’s chances of winning if it took pole position.

Sainz qualified on pole position, less than a tenth of a second ahead of Charles Leclerc, who took third behind George Russell. Ferrari chose to put Leclerc on the less durable soft tyres at the start to get him ahead of the Mercedes, then slowed the pace of the race to deprive their rivals of tactical options.

This compromised Leclerc when most of the drivers pitted at once during an early Safety Car period, but ensured Sainz kept the lead and went on to win. Leclerc slipped to fourth at the finish.

Leclerc said Ferrari realised before the race their best chance of winning lay in claiming pole position and then controlling the race.

“It was clear already from the Saturday night after qualifying, probably even before qualifying, that whoever was first, the second car would have to basically help the car in front,” he said. “So this was clear and we did a good job so I’m really happy that at least the team could win.

“It also motivates me and gives me an extra push in order to win one before the end of the season.”

Ferrari’s win was “a huge boost to the team” which has climbed to third place in the constructors championship behind Mercedes following a difficult start to 2023.

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“After the first part of the season that we had, it was obviously a difficult one. To be honest, if you had asked me four or five races ago, I would have said that Red Bull would have won all races.

“If there was one opportunity, it was Singapore, as they were probably not on top form. The team has done an incredible job of being at the right opportunity, right up there. And Carlos did a great job too.

“So it’s a big boost for the team and for the rest of the year, especially that it’s been two or three races that we feel we are going in the right direction, that we are working in the right direction.”

Leclerc does not expect Ferrari to be as competitive in the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend. He predicted they will be in a three-way fight to decide which team finishes closest to Red Bull.

“It’s very difficult to predict any team’s performance this year because it’s just varying so much from track to track. We did not expect Red Bull to struggle that much in Singapore. We did not expect us to be that quick in Singapore. I hope the surprise will be a good surprise for us too this weekend.

“However I think we expect Red Bull to be obviously in front and then it to be a close fight with McLaren and Mercedes. It has been the case for the whole year and every hundredth makes a difference. So it’s very difficult to predict for now whether we will be in front or behind. But we’ll do our best to be the best of the rest.”

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