Charles Leclerc admitted that “a bit of confusion” in the Ferrari garage was behind the pitlane tangle with Lando Norris during a chaotic second practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix.
The incident unfolded in the final 20 minutes of FP2, when Ferrari released Leclerc straight into Norris’ path as both drivers scrambled to get back on track after the second red flag.
The McLaren clipped the Ferrari, and hit the pitwall, damaging its front wing in the process – much to the dismay of both teams – while Leclerc rejoined the track. The stewards deemed the incident an "unsafe release" and subsequently imposed a €10,000 fine on the Scuderia.
Confusion and Tricky Timing
Speaking after the session, Leclerc pointed to miscommunication and the tricky timing of the restart as the root cause.
“It was a bit of confusion with the two McLarens going out,” Leclerc said. “It looked like they were going out at the same time.
“So he [his mechanic] thought that they would go out a bit slow, and so I didn't have the message to stop. On these cases, you kind of rely on the team.
“But these things happen, and it was also in a tricky moment because with all the red flags, everybody was in such a rush to get out to do some laps. So, it's a combination of things. It's not something you want, but these things happen.”
Leclerc eventually placed ninth on the timesheets in FP2 but had earlier impressed with second place in FP1, leaving him convinced that Ferrari’s outright pace is strong enough to recover.
“Good FP1, very difficult FP2,” he reflected. “It’s been just a very messy FP2 with the traffic and with the red flags and with the pitlane incident.
“So, lots of things going on which haven't been very positive, but we'll reset and come back stronger. I think the pace is in the car, so that's a good thing.”
Ferrari’s mixed Friday – positives to build on
The Scuderia did at least show flashes of competitiveness. Lewis Hamilton, in the sister car, was fourth in FP1 before finishing 10th in FP2, having at one stage topped the timing screens during the stop-start session.
“It's generally been a good day,” Hamilton said afterwards. “I felt like we made steps forward today, so I feel like overnight, we probably won't change much.
“But, of course, trying to refine the set-up and see if we can extract a little bit more to get as close as we can to the McLarens.”
With McLaren setting the pace in FP2 – the day’s most relevant session – the Marina Bay weekend is already shaping up as a tight battle. For Ferrari, however, the focus is first on ironing out the confusion that sparked Friday’s most bizarre moment.
Read also: Leclerc admits Ferrari’s chances of victory are fading into shadows
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