The not-so-obvious chance Leclerc missed to usurp Verstappen
by Ronald Vording · AutosportWith hindsight, Leclerc would have done the exact same thing in the first corner. A little later in the Singapore GP, however, he missed an opportunity, although the final result would probably have been the same
When Charles Leclerc had a better start than Max Verstappen and claimed the inside line for Turn 1, many in the media centre thought the Monegasque should have held his ground to take the lead.
However, Verstappen was on the outside, on the normal racing line that offered slightly more grip, and the Dutchman was prepared to take every risk. Verstappen had already told Autosport a day earlier that second or third place in the drivers' championship would mean nothing to him and that he simply wanted to go all-in for race victories.
In other words, Verstappen was willing to risk everything, although that was not even the main reason why Leclerc was unable to complete the move. The reference points drivers use under braking – such as the 150-metre and 100-metre boards – are on the right-hand side approaching Turn 1, but Leclerc could not see them because he was alongside Verstappen.
The Ferrari driver had to choose his braking point by instinct and tried to judge it as well as possible. As a result, he does not regard it as a missed opportunity, adding: "I would have done exactly the same."
No regrets in that respect, then, although Leclerc admits that he did let an opportunity to pass Verstappen slip away a few laps later.
Verstappen appeared to be managing his pace in the opening stages to preserve his tyres, but the four-time world champion revealed in the post-race press conference that this was not entirely a deliberate choice.
"We had a few laps with some deployment issues, so that's where Charles actually almost got me into Turn 7."
Verstappen was not getting all the electrical power at the points where he needed it, something Arvid Lindblad at Red Bull's sister team Racing Bulls – which uses the same power unit – also complained about.
"Yeah, I also had issues with the PU, which we're trying to look after. I was getting driven past on the straights and the engine braking was really bad, which wasn't easy to drive", Lindblad said.
For Verstappen, the problem was limited to deployment issues in the opening stages of the Singapore Grand Prix, but Leclerc believes he should have taken advantage of them.
"There were a few opportunities in the first three laps when Max had the deployment issues, but I always thought that it was a one-off, so I wasn't really using my battery, which maybe was a mistake", Leclerc admitted.
Every time Verstappen was slow on the straights, the Ferrari driver thought it would be the last time, meaning he did not anticipate the problem recurring or adjust his own deployment strategy accordingly. By the time the issue occurred again, Leclerc could no longer react.
"When I was realising that he had no power at the end of the straight, I couldn't do anything. It was too late for me to use my power."
The question, however, is whether it would have made any difference to the final result. Track position is crucial at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and in that scenario Leclerc would not have had to spend so long running in dirty air. On the other hand, he acknowledges that Verstappen was simply too strong and that Red Bull managed its tyres better.
"I don't know if it would have changed much. Of course, for the first stint it would have helped, but I think eventually they just had too much pace for us."
Leclerc made another attempt in the closing stages with a different strategy and a second stop under the virtual safety car, but a second win of the season, following his triumph at Silverstone, ultimately proved beyond reach.
"I’m happy, but not super happy. I mean, second place is a good result considering the tendency that we've had lately, where we were lacking just a little bit of pace.
"I feel like, particularly in qualifying yesterday, we had strong pace. Today in the race, Max had a bit more pace than we did, which was expected, but maybe we were a little bit closer than what we expected.
"It was a cool race and I believed in it until the very end, but unfortunately it wasn't quite enough."
Nevertheless, it was enough to secure Leclerc's first podium finish since the summer break and his fifth overall this F1 season.
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