Despite Ferrari top 3 start, unhappy Charles Leclerc says he ‘f***ed it up’ in fight for pole against Carlos Sainz at Singapore GP
Charles Leclerc is not happy even after getting a P3 start to the Singapore GP as his teammate Carlos Sainz clinches the pole position.
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It was another round of Qualifying for the fifteenth race of 2023 as the F1 fans flocked around the Marina Bay Street Circuit ahead of this season’s Singapore GP. But nothing went the usual way during the hugh-stakes battle between the racing greats right from the beginning of the Qualis. As the heat was running high and the drivers struggles to maintain their pace in the tough situations, Lance Stroll fell prey to a massive crash in Q1 that ended the session abruptly.
Proceeding to Q2, the two Red Bulls looked like they were having a lot of trouble. Even though the team made some overnight changes to their setup, the race pace was just not enough for both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to proceed to the final round of Qualifying. But surpassing them both, Singapore GP debutant Liam Lawson put his AlphaTauri into the top 10.
Also making a surprise appearance in Q3 was Haas with both their cars. McLaren’s Lando Norris put teammate Oscar Piastri way behind as he claimed a position in the top 10 and so did Fernando Alonso, the two Mercedes and the two Ferraris. In the end, it was a battle between the prancing horses for the pole position, and Carlos Sainz reigned superior over Charles Leclerc. Although he scored a P3 start, the Monegasque was upset with the results as he claimed on the team radio (as reported by Junaid Samodien), “I f***ed it up”.
Charles Leclerc reels from the ‘super close’ Qualifying battle as he expresses concern for the Main Race
Even before traveling to the Marina Bay Street Circuit, it has been mentioned by pundits like Nico Rosberg that the Singapore GP is one of the most taxing ones on the calendar for a racer. Still, Ferrari managed to impress as both their drivers ended up in the top 3. But Charles Leclerc insisted he could have got the pole position. He said, “It’s extremely difficult to get the balance with the tyres, and everything. Everything was super close. Unfortunately, I missed a little bit to gain some positions but Carlos did a great job.”
While Ferrari managed to outscore both the Red Bulls at the Singapore GP Qualifying, the job is far from being over. Charles Leclerc knows it was a narrow margin during the qualis and the Austrian outfit will put everything into it to make sure their performance at tomorrow’s Main Race is excellent. Thus Leclerc said, “The physical challenge tomorrow will be something for sure.“
Charles Leclerc also mentioned that Ferrari never expected to be strong at a circuit as difficult as the one in Singapore GP. But on the other hand, Max Verstappen, who walked away with a P11 start to the Main Race, claimed he did not expect his day to turn out so badly. But the exciting Qualifying has made it clear that tomorrow’s race will be an interesting one, for sure. And it remains to be seen which team comes out at the top and maintains their lead to get the win in the end.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)