Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto has praised his team for being braver than their rivals after they opted to make the switch to slicks as the track dried before Red Bull.
The race began on Intermediate wet weather tyres and stayed that way for over half of the duration of the grand prix as the humid conditions made for a slow drying surface at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Starting on pole position, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc lost the lead at turn one after Sergio Perez got a better start in the wet conditions.
“The start was not great,” Binotto told Sky Sports F1 after the race. “We lost positions at the start and that has affected the rest of the race so, having done a better start I think we would have had a better result today.
“I think only finishing second and third overall is still a good result if we look in terms of the Constructors’ Championship then it has been a good weekend.
“I think overall, the car has been good in the wet and in the dry both yesterday in qualy and today in the race and we can be satisfied having looked back at Spa and Zandvoort it was more difficult. I think we have addressed some of the issues we had.”
With Leclerc keeping close to the rear of Perez for most of the race, his best chance of making a move came just after the pit stops where everyone opted to change onto the slicks.
Ferrari bravely made the first move and attempted to gain an undercut on the leading Red Bull but a slow stop, as well as a damp track, made it difficult for Leclerc to capitalise.
“I think at the end, we were fast when we switched to slicks. We were brave to be the first to switch it to slicks between us and Checo.
“I think we went well on the wet and went well on the dry and I think that’s the most positive of the weekend.”
What a load of guff. Russell had been on slicks for ages before then. This is just more bluster to cover up for the fact that yet again Ferrari had the fastest car but failed to win. Leclerc tried valiantly, but Perez drove magnificently to hold him off then pull away towards the end to fend off the threat of a penalty reversing their positions. However, it was the poor pitstop which really threw the spanner in the works and let down Leclerc, for which he was unable to make up on his outlap. Strategy and service have been a blight on Ferrari’s season, far more so than the occasional driver errors.