Charles Leclerc revealed how a “stupid” front wing experiment backfired and left him dejected after a disappointing qualifying session for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.
A season-long struggle has continued in Singapore. Leclerc failed to secure a front-row start after another difficult qualifying session.
Instead, the Monégasque will line up on the fourth row in seventh, just behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Evaluating the weekend, Leclerc divuldged that he felt comfortable in the car in FP1, yet as the weekend progressed, his confidence diminished.
“We got off to a good start in FP1,” Leclerc explained to Canal+.
“Then we had to make some tweaks, and unfortunately, we’ve been struggling since FP2, especially me. I must say, as I was nowhere in FP2 and FP3.”
Leclerc has notoriously been more confident around the tight walls that street tracks offer. However, 2025 has proposed a new problem.
In Baku, a track where the Ferrari driver had taken four consecutive pole positions, he finished ninth, the same place he started.
In Singapore, Leclerc has taken pole position twice, and yet he failed to repeat the performance.
“I’ve been completely unable to feel the car over the last two weekends, and what’s weird is that has been on street circuits where I typically am rather confident,” he said.
“We need to work and understand what’s wrong, because I’m not at the level where I should be, and we’re losing points.”
Fighting understeer triggered front wing experiment
Leclerc has been open about preferring a car with oversteer to understeer. Unfortunately though, one of the most significant traits of the SF-25 has been its understeer, which has led to him struggling to find balance.
“I have a lot of understeer on the car. The car is still very snappy and unpredictable, and I know that it’s not my strength whenever there’s understeer in the car.”
“This weekend [it] has been the case from FP2 to qualifying, and we don’t really find any ways out without making the car even more unpredictable. Which is not what you want on a city track, so it’s been a very, very tough weekend.”
Leclerc later explained to reporters that the desperation was such that he resorted to the experiment that ultimately failed.
“We never found the solution, unfortunately. Kind of tried to find consistency in that car through the whole weekend and there was no way out,” he explained.
“At the end in Q3 I just said ‘OK, let’s try something a little bit stupid with the front wing’, try[ing] to rotate the car, anyway its unpredictable with understeer, will still be unpredictable with oversteer [after the wing change] but at least I prefer that.
“Managed to do a good lap on the scrubbed [tyres], then put the new [tyre on] and the feeling was completely different.
“So, yeah, I didn’t find my way around.”
The Ferrari driver was particularly critical of the team’s position in the championship compared to the other front-runners.
Their struggles were highlighted in Baku when Ferrari slipped from second to third in the Constructors’ Championship.
“We are not anywhere close to being on the level of McLaren, Red Bull, and, actually, now Mercedes. On some occasions, and actually quite recently, they’ve just been a step [ahead].”
READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton delivers stinging Ferrari judgement after Singapore GP qualifying
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