Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix night race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore on September 22, 2024. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
Charles Leclerc hailed Ferrari’s “really good race execution” that enabled him to claw his way up to fifth in the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday after a disastrous qualifying session 24 hours earlier.
Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz started ninth and 10th on the grid after the Spaniard crashed in Q3 and Leclerc had his only lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
Spaniard Sainz improved to finish seventh on a Marina Bay Circuit that is notoriously difficult for overtaking.
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And it's lights out in Singapore! 🤩
Catch up with the highlights as Norris and Verstappen went head to head off the line 👇#F1 #SingaporeGP
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It rescued some useful points for Ferrari as they try to stay in touch with McLaren and Red Bull at the top of the Formula One constructors’ championship.
McLaren lead with 516 points, ahead of Red Bull on 475 with Ferrari still in the fight on 441.
“We maximized our potential today and our race execution was really good,” said Leclerc, who still has an outside shot at the drivers’ title.
He is third in the standings, 34 points behind second-placed Norris and 85 adrift of leader Max Verstappen with six races and three sprints to go.
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“Overall, it isn’t the most satisfying weekend for us, but as a team, we can be proud of turning things around and bringing home this P5 today.”
Sainz tried to take the positives from a difficult weekend.
“We took a risk by pitting very early, but we made it work to the end, gaining some positions,” said the Spaniard who won in Singapore last year.
“Today was about damage limitation, but we leave Singapore with a sense of disappointment.
“There are still a lot of points in play and we need to maximize every weekend.”