Charles Leclerc revealed that Ferrari introduced small new components at the Singapore Grand Prix, helping the team improve its competitiveness, but admitted that further development will be necessary to challenge Red Bull consistently after finishing second behind Max Verstappen on Sunday (11 October).
The Monegasque started alongside Verstappen on the front row and remained his closest challenger throughout the race at Marina Bay. Ferrari showed encouraging pace during the opening stint, but increasing tyre degradation prevented Leclerc from maintaining the pressure, leaving the Red Bull driver to secure his second consecutive Grand Prix victory.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Leclerc acknowledged that Ferrari had been competitive at the beginning but struggled to sustain its performance as the tyres deteriorated.
“Yeah, we were quite strong at the beginning of the race, then we started degrading a little bit more in the first stint, but then we did a slightly different strategy to Max with the safety car,” Leclerc said.
“I believed in it until the very end, but I pushed a lot at the beginning of that last stint and then degraded a bit more than the others.”
The Ferrari driver insisted that he had extracted almost everything available from the SF-26, although he identified one moment when he might have approached the race differently.
“But yeah, I gave it all and I don’t regret anything. I don’t think there was much more to do today, apart from maybe a bit more aggressive at the start. That’s the way it is.”
Leclerc eventually finished second as Verstappen completed a dominant Singapore weekend with victory from pole position, while Kimi Antonelli took third for Mercedes.
Ferrari’s small Singapore upgrades show progress, but Red Bull remains ahead
Leclerc’s comments revealed that Ferrari had continued developing its car despite the championship approaching its final stages.
The team arrived at Marina Bay following a difficult period in which its performance had fallen behind the leading competitors. However, the introduction of small new parts appeared to help Ferrari recover some competitiveness, particularly over a single lap and during the opening stages of the Grand Prix.
Asked whether Ferrari had closed the gap to Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren, Leclerc acknowledged that the team had improved but remained short of the level required to challenge Verstappen consistently.
“Yeah, I still feel that way. However, it’s true that we brought some small new parts to the car, which maybe helped us to do another step forward,” he said.
“But it’s not an awful push until the end and we still got to bring some new things to the car to be at that level. But I think today we had a good pace overall.”
The assessment reflects the competitive balance seen in Singapore. Ferrari qualified second and third with Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, and both drivers remained among the leading contenders during the Grand Prix.
Nevertheless, Verstappen retained a small but decisive advantage, particularly as the race developed and tyre management became increasingly important.
Red Bull’s improvement has been evident across two very different circuits. The Dutchman won at Sepang before repeating the result in Singapore, prompting team principal Laurent Mekies to praise Verstappen’s dominance across contrasting tracks.
Ferrari’s latest developments suggest the team is continuing to search for performance rather than abandoning the current car, but Leclerc’s comments indicate that the gap to Red Bull has not yet been eliminated.
Leclerc’s podium contrasts with Hamilton’s missed opportunity
Ferrari’s competitiveness at Marina Bay was also evident in Hamilton’s performance. The seven-time world champion qualified third and remained in podium contention before a strategic mistake cost him positions during the race.
Team principal Frédéric Vasseur subsequently revealed that Hamilton missed Ferrari’s pit entry after both drivers were called in during the Virtual Safety Car.
According to Vasseur, the missed stop prevented Ferrari from protecting what he believed could have been a second- and third-place finish. Hamilton eventually finished sixth after losing positions to Antonelli, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Despite the missed opportunity, Ferrari collected 26 points in the Grand Prix, with Leclerc contributing 18 for second place and Hamilton adding eight for sixth.
Vasseur also acknowledged that Verstappen had been slightly faster throughout the weekend, although he considered Ferrari’s overall performance encouraging after securing second and third in both the sprint and qualifying.
Leclerc’s assessment was consistent with that view. Ferrari had made progress, but its inability to sustain the same pace as Red Bull over a full race distance remained a limitation.
The result moved Leclerc to 215 points in the Drivers’ Championship, while Hamilton remained third on 229. Verstappen’s victory lifted him to fourth, between the two Ferrari drivers.
Ferrari targets further progress before Austin
Ferrari’s next opportunity to evaluate its development comes at the United States Grand Prix, where the Circuit of the Americas will provide another comparison with Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren.
The Austin circuit combines long straights, high-speed direction changes and slower technical corners, creating a different challenge from Marina Bay. Ferrari will need to determine whether its recent gains can be maintained across those conditions.
Leclerc’s Singapore performance provided evidence that Ferrari can remain competitive at the front, but the team must still improve its tyre management and overall pace if it wants to challenge Verstappen for victory.
Formula 1 returns for the United States Grand Prix on October 23–25. GRANDE PRÊMIO continues its Formula 1 coverage as Ferrari works to close the gap to Red Bull during the final rounds of the season.
