Leclerc surprised by Russell's victory: "We are clearly behind the top three teams"

Saturday, after qualifying, Charles Leclerc deplored the lack of real progress on the part of Ferrari, and this on a track supposedly favorable to Team. Conversely, Classic Mercedes for sale continued to improve since the last races, and seemed to show even more at the Singapore Grand Prix F1, a notable velocity. Prone to losing precious time at the end of the race, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc clearly did not understand where such a deficit could come from.

"We lost 15 seconds in the last 15 laps. That's still a 30-second deficit. (Charles Leclerc crossed the finish line 45 seconds after the leaders. Editor's note), and thirty seconds is huge, he regretted on Canal+. Knowing that we weren't that far behind them a few races ago... What's clear is that they've taken a step forward. We haven't managed to do the same. I have little hope of taking the same step because we're now focusing on 2026."

A misunderstanding that persists at Ferrari

Naturally focused on the coming seasons, the teams working hard on the upcoming regulations will not be able to allow Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to make significant progress between now and the end of the year, next December. Disappointed to see that this Singapore GP gave rise to another mixed analysis among the Reds, the Monegasque wanted above all to be pragmatic. "It's going to be complicated until the end of the season, but we're going to give it our all until the end. Today, of course, was a frustrating race. We'll analyze what happened, but we weren't in the right window, especially for the brakes, so we had to manage a lot. That's how it is."

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Asked to provide some insight into the progress made by Ferrari's rivals, Charles Leclerc ultimately found himself at a loss. Noting Mercedes' ability to win occasionally this season, the man in question shared a final observation that was somewhat fatalistic at this stage. "I think the explanation, if we compare ourselves to McLaren et Red Bull, we're more or less on the same gap as in previous races. Mercedes, on the other hand, has improved, so we're clearly behind the top three teams now. That hurts."