Leclerc points to Ferrari brake issue after missing Singapore pole

Charles Leclerc says an unusual braking problem made his route through Singapore Grand Prix qualifying difficult, before he secured second place behind Max Verstappen at Marina Bay.

Leclerc said the car pulled under braking during the early segments, a particular challenge at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. He found a stronger lap in Q3, but felt his own errors—not a lack of pace—kept him from pole.

Brake trouble disrupted Leclerc’s early runs

Leclerc described Q1 and Q2 as difficult, with the car’s behaviour under braking unsettling him. He said he was able to put together a more competitive effort in the final part of qualifying, but still made mistakes on the lap.

He believed pole was within reach, while giving Verstappen credit for producing the better performance. The narrow margin left Ferrari second on the grid, despite Leclerc’s disrupted start to the session.

The braking issue adds a technical detail to Ferrari’s qualifying story. F1LivePulse has also covered Leclerc’s Ferrari brake-related difficulties, though the Singapore problem described here occurred during qualifying and is a separate report.

Ferrari made limited set-up changes before Q3

Leclerc was also asked whether he and Hamilton had moved toward similar set-up choices over the weekend. He said the pair had converged, while explaining that he had made some adjustments to his car after feeling relatively comfortable with it the previous day.

The changes were not extensive, he indicated. Leclerc instead pointed to a misjudgement involving the wing in Q3 as one area where Ferrari might have made a better call. He added that drivers could usually identify something they might have improved on a final qualifying lap.

Hamilton’s third place gave Ferrari two cars near the front, with Leclerc ahead of his team-mate. For more on Ferrari’s Singapore weekend, see our coverage of the special race suit worn by Leclerc.

Leclerc’s assessment was clear: the pace was sufficient to fight for pole, but execution mattered. Verstappen delivered the decisive lap, while Leclerc’s late improvement could not erase the difficulties and small errors that shaped his qualifying session.