Ferrari salvages Singapore race with brilliant strategy moves

Following a disastrous qualifying on Saturday, Ferrari bounced back with brilliant strategy moves to salvage its race weekend at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Ferrari endured a very difficult qualifying session yesterday on a track that was expected to highlight the SF-24’s strengths. The final qualifying segment saw Carlos Sainz crash out, causing significant damage to the rear end of his car.

His team-mate Charles Leclerc looked in contention for a top spot on the grid, but an issue with tyre preparation meant that he only qualified ninth on the grid.

The two drivers started on the Medium tyres but their strategies were different. Leclerc got away well, passing Yuki Tsunoda, then tucking in behind Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso, while Sainz lost two places and found himself in a DRS train.

The team therefore decided to call him in very early, on Lap 13, to switch to the Hard tyre, after which he had slower cars to deal with before running pretty much at his own pace. This move, combined with his clever tyre management, meant Sainz got as high as sixth place on lap 43.

As for Leclerc, he stayed out until lap 36, one of the last to pit, having managed his Mediums very well. It meant he was able to rejoin eighth, ahead of Hulkenberg on much fresher tyres compared to Alonso, who was only able to keep the Ferrari at bay for two laps. On lap 43, the team switched the drivers round so that Leclerc could set off in pursuit of the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Sainz meanwhile was managing his seventh place, fending off Alonso who never really posed a threat. Leclerc easily passed Hamilton with ten laps remaining and closed on the other Mercedes five laps from the flag.

Reflecting on the Singapore race, Leclerc noted: “We maximised our potential today and our race execution was really good. The first stint was a bit frustrating and long for me, it required a lot of patience, staying steady behind slower cars ahead. On the second stint, things looked better and we had a really good pace in clean air.

“I pushed quite a bit and towards the end of the race, when it was time to overtake George (Russell), my rear tyres were not in the best shape and we didn’t manage to gain that position, but we did a good job anyway.

“Overall, it isn’t the most satisfying weekend for us, but as a team, we can be proud of turning things around and bringing home this P5 today.”

His team-mate Carlos Sainz added: “It was a challenging race. We took a risk by pitting very early, but we made it work to the end, gaining some positions. We knew our pace was solid and I enjoyed some good overtakes on track. Today was about damage limitation, but we leave Singapore with a sense of disappointment.

“Now there is a gap to reset and come back stronger for the last races of the season. There are still a lot of points in play and we need to maximise every weekend.”