Carlos Sainz Expecting “tight battle at the top”

Formula 1 returned to Singapore today after a two-year break from the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, and it was a positive day for Scuderia Ferrari.

Ferrari won the last Singapore Grand Prix and finished with a one-two finish, with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc leading the way. The team picked up where they left off, with Carlos Sainz Jr. topping the Second Free Practice session followed by Leclerc.

The first session didn’t look too promising for the team, with Leclerc third and Sainz sixth but they seemed to up their game and look the fastest throughout the afternoon. However, despite their good form in the second session, it is only Friday, meaning there is still so much time to finalise the preparations ahead of the qualifying session and eventually the race.

Sainz is hoping the team can keep progressing into Saturday after a positive day on track.

“It’s been a busy first day here in Singapore. We managed to complete the full run plan but we also faced some challenges, particularly with the setup and car balance. We didn’t find the right window for FP1, but we managed to improve the feeling with the car for FP2.

“We still need to do some work and find some lap time, especially for the long runs. It seems we are up for a tight battle at the top so we need to try to maximise every aspect of the weekend.“

Charles Leclerc – “We will target pole”

Leclerc had a positive day on track, despite limited running due to a brake issue on the F1-75. The Monegasque driver will be hoping to delay Max Verstappen securing the Championship this weekend and add another win to his name, but with such a tight top end of the grid so far this weekend that will be a tough ask.

Leclerc was pleased overall with the start of the weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and is confident the team can secure pole-position on Saturday.

“Our performance was good, but unfortunately, we had limited running today. It isn’t ideal, so we have to make sure we have a clean FP3 so as to also work on our race pace.

“Our qualifying pace looks strong and we will target pole.“