Charles Leclerc claims he didn’t get sacrificed by Ferrari at the Singapore GP, says ‘it was completely normal’

Charles Leclerc finished P4 in the 2023 Singapore GP.

Charles Leclerc claims he didn’t get sacrificed by Ferrari at the Singapore GP, says ‘it was completely normal’

Carlos Sainz, Fred Vasseur, and Charles Leclerc. (Credits: Imago)

The Ferrari F1 team has had an evening to remember at the famous Marina Bay Street Circuit. Carlos Sainz secured the win for the team but Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, missed out on a podium finish in the Singapore GP. While a lot has been already said about the Maranello-based team’s pit wall decisions, Leclerc has claimed that he was not sacrificed.

During the closing stages of the Singapore GP, Alpine driver, Esteban Ocon came to a halt. Bringing out a virtual safety car. At that moment, Charles Leclerc was in P5 and had the opportunity to dive into the pits to put on a fresh set just like the two Mercedes did. However, Ferrari decided against it as Carlos Sainz, who was leading the race, did not have the chance to dive in when Ocon’s incident took place.

Various pundits responded to whether he felt his race was sacrificed, Leclerc said, “No, it was completely normal. We discussed it before. In the 1st stint, the situation was a bit different because we had more pace than MERC. I asked for the strategy to be changed a bit.”

Sainz added, “But in the end, we did well because Carlos won. On my behalf, I’m sorry because I would’ve liked to have a better result, especially because the pace was there. Then in the 2nd stint, when Lewis and George passed me, I only tried to bring the car home. I knew it was the end of my race.”

Also read: Lewis Hamilton consoles teammate George Russell for ‘unfortunate’ crash at the Singapore GP

Charles Leclerc ended his Singapore GP exploits in P4

While Charles Leclerc is a bit distraught with how the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit panned out for him, he did manage to come away with a respectable P4 finish. During the last lap of the race, George Russell rammed his W14 into the barriers, and that pushed the Mongasque driver to fourth place.

Charles Leclerc in Singapore GP 2023
Charles Leclerc (Credits: Planet F1)

The SF-23 performed really well during the Monza weekend, but not many people were giving it much chance at the tight and twisty Marina Bay. However, despite all the doubters, Fred Vasseur and Co. were able to produce a potent enough car that helped Sainz and Leclerc bring bumper points to the team.

The 2023 F1 season is now 15 rounds down and has got the unpredictable Japanese Grand Prix right on the horizon. Ferrari broke Max Verstappen‘s dominant run with Carlos Sainz’s most recent victory, and considering this, the team will now head to Japan brimming with optimism of securing yet another strong result.

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