Leclerc frustrated after Ferrari ‘pay the price’ in Singapore qualifying as Sainz explains ‘very strange’ crash

Ferrari’s qualifying session at the Singapore Grand Prix took a dramatic turn for the worse during the final Q3 phase, with Carlos Sainz crashing out of proceedings and Charles Leclerc losing his lap time.

Sainz brought out the red flags in the early stages of the pole position shootout when the Spaniard lost control of his car as he prepared to start a flying lap and slammed into the barriers at the final corner.

READ MORE: Norris beats Verstappen to pole for Singapore GP after Sainz crashes out

After that shunt, the remaining nine drivers were involved in a one-lap shootout for the top spot, but Ferrari endured more pain thanks to Leclerc being stripped of his time for exceeding track limits at Turn 2.

Speaking post-session, both Leclerc and Sainz – who will start down in P9 and P10 respectively – pointed to struggles getting the tyres into the optimal working window as the root cause of the Scuderia’s problems.

Asked if the lack of pace in qualifying came as a surprise to himself and Ferrari, Leclerc countered: “Lack of temperature [in the tyres] most of all.

“When we get out of the garage with front tyres that are too cold, then you arrive in the first corner and you lock up, so I don’t know what’s gone on.

“I don’t have the answer yet, the team don’t have the answer yet, but we need to look into it because we paid the price today.”

READ MORE: ‘It’s a nightmare’ – Disappointed Perez explains Q2 exit in Singapore

Pushed on whether it is a concern for the race, with 62 gruelling laps ahead of the drivers on Sunday night, Leclerc signed off: “No, not a concern, but we’ve got to find it.”

Sainz, meanwhile, was left to reflect on a sizeable crash that came shortly after he had backed off to let rival cars, including McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, overtake him.

“A very strange one,” he said. “I clearly underestimated, or overestimated in this case, the grip that I would get from a very cold tyre. I had to do a lot of back off in the last sector to let some cars by.

“Launching the lap here, you never want to give away any lap time. When I was launching the lap, I went [over] the bump in [Turn] 17 and I just had zero grip compared to any other lap of the weekend.

“I had a big moment. At one point I thought I could save it but then it snapped on me and it was a very unfortunate, very bad accident. Apologies for the team and for everyone, because it’s not the way you want to finish a qualifying.

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix

“At the same time, this weekend we’ve been struggling a lot with temperatures, with getting the tyres in the right window, and today was just one of those bad ones.”

He added: “When it comes to the race, like in Baku, as soon as we get into a rhythm and you put the tyres in the window, normally we tend to be okay. So, as soon as I get into a rhythm, I think we can be still quite strong.”

DISCOVER MORE...

PADDOCK INSIDER: Why Verstappen and Norris’s electrifying title fight looks set to light up Sao Paulo

WEEKEND WARM-UP: Norris vs Verstappen, Perez vs Lawson and more as F1 prepares for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix

‘I’d have signed him already’ – Verstappen reveals who he’d choose for Sauber seat in 2025

Colapinto reluctant to ‘get too excited’ about future in F1 as Hamilton advises he should do ‘absolutely everything’ to get a seat