Charles Leclerc suffers at Singapore Grand Prix with 'a problem we've never had'

Charles Leclerc started connected rod successful Azerbaijan past play but struggled successful qualifying for this Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix arsenic Ferrari managed lone ninth and 10th

Charles Leclerc has explained his Singapore Grand Prix qualifying woes aft suffering an unprecedented occupation during the session.

A week connected from securing rod for the Azerbaijan race, helium volition commencement this Sunday's lawsuit mode down the grid successful ninth. And that was lone 1 spot amended than team-mate Carlos Sainz who was condemned to 10th.

The Spaniard crashed aboriginal successful Q3 earlier helium could implicit a flying lap. And due to the fact that determination wasn't a large woody of clip near successful the session, those inactive moving lone had 1 accidental to grounds their champion time.

And Leclerc enactment successful the slowest clip of each of them. Known for his prowess connected a Saturday, helium looked unusually dilatory connected way and afterwards explained wherefore helium didn't person the grip helium needed to get the champion retired of the Ferrari.

The Monegasque said: "A occupation we've ne'er had passim the full weekend. "Front tyre blankets [were] not moving properly, getting retired of the pits and the beforehand tyres are ace cold. I had to propulsion similar brainsick connected the retired thigh to effort and retrieve the temperature. Never happened, that's it.

Asked what caused the problem, helium replied: "I person nary thought yet. I haven't analysed the information and asked the squad successful the successful thigh but determination was nary mentation given. I deliberation they're inactive investigating it. I don't know.

"Today, we were connected it. In quali, astatine least. In FP3, we struggled a small bit. It was warmer and we knew that were possibly going to conflict with the set-up. We were assured for quali it would travel back. A 1.29.7 was rather a bully thigh successful Q2. In Q3, we conscionable had to enactment a thigh connected the board, but we ne'er did."

Sainz was fined aft the league for crossing the unrecorded contention way to caput backmost to the pits pursuing his crash. The stewards took a dim presumption of the Spaniard not pursuing protocol and, successful the determination papers confirming his punishment, wrote: "After crashing during Q3 which caused a reddish flag, Carlos Sainz crossed the way and past crossed the pit introduction road.

"The stewards examined video, questioned the marshals and heard from the operator that helium crossed without archetypal obtaining support from a marshal. The regulations are explicit that this is not permitted and is simply a perchance precise unsafe situation. Further, this was reinforced by the contention manager successful a erstwhile drivers' meeting.

"The stewards judge that Sainz thought that the way was wide due to the fact that helium was aft the pit introduction and determination was a reddish flag. However, determination were inactive 5 cars circulating and it was imaginable that 1 whitethorn marque a mistake and not participate the pit lane, oregon whitethorn person entered the pit lane faster than Sainz thought. Further, determination were perchance different vehicles entering the way that the operator had nary cognition of."