The Ferrari driver looked set to issue a challenge for the lead against Perez after the final safety car period of the Marina Bay race.
But, despite watching Perez for several laps once DRS was activated, and even looking close to attempting a pass at one point, his assault fell flat once Leclerc fell out of range.
As Perez continued to try to open up an advantage to cover any potential post-race penalties for his safety car rule violation, Leclerc had nothing in response.
This increased pace proved crucial for Perez as he was then given a five second penalty for falling more than 10 car lengths behind the safety car and, if he had not cleared , Leclerc would have inherited the victory.
Speaking about this phase of the race, Leclerc said once Perez was in the clear air, his tires coming to life gave him a big advantage.
“I was quite surprised because as soon as I lost the DRS, I think that was exactly when the Checo tires started working properly,” he said. “Unfortunately, I lost it a bit.
“But yeah, before that everything was really on the edge. I mean, in the dirty air, in conditions like this, the slightest mistake is costly. So I made a few mistakes.
“I was just trying to get as close as possible because I basically had to do overtakes on the straight.
“I couldn’t really go to the braking zone and brake later because I didn’t really know how the track was inside. And I didn’t want to take that risk.
“I had one lap where I was really close. And I actually thought about getting on the inside and braking later. But for me it wasn’t worth it. So I was waiting the right opportunity. But unfortunately, it didn’t come to an end.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2nd position, with Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, in Parc Fermé
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Leclerc suggested Ferrari’s performance against Red Bull in the Singapore GP showed they were quicker at different stages of the stints.
“There are things we can analyze from this race because Red Bull seems to be very, very good after six/seven laps, and we are very, very good in the first six/seven laps – we will look at that. “, did he declare. said.
Leclerc’s hopes of winning pole from pole were dashed at the start when he had a bad getaway and fell behind Perez.
Asked what happened, Leclerc replied: “I don’t really know yet. Whether it was me who made a mistake in my way of doing things, or if it is something else, it will have to be analyzed.
“The only thing I felt was I had a little wheel spin and lost it, and I saw that Checo had an amazing start. So yeah, that’s how it happened.
The Ferrari driver looked set to issue a challenge for the lead against Perez after the final safety car period of the Marina Bay race.
But, despite watching Perez for several laps once DRS was activated, and even looking close to attempting a pass at one point, his assault fell flat once Leclerc fell out of range.
As Perez continued to try to open up an advantage to cover any potential post-race penalties for his safety car rule violation, Leclerc had nothing in response.
This increased pace proved crucial for Perez as he was then given a five second penalty for falling more than 10 car lengths behind the safety car and, if he had not cleared , Leclerc would have inherited the victory.
Speaking about this phase of the race, Leclerc said once Perez was in the clear air, his tires coming to life gave him a big advantage.
“I was quite surprised because as soon as I lost the DRS, I think that was exactly when the Checo tires started working properly,” he said. “Unfortunately, I lost it a bit.
“But yeah, before that everything was really on the edge. I mean, in the dirty air, in conditions like this, the slightest mistake is costly. So I made a few mistakes.
“I was just trying to get as close as possible because I basically had to do overtakes on the straight.
“I couldn’t really go to the braking zone and brake later because I didn’t really know how the track was inside. And I didn’t want to take that risk.
“I had one lap where I was really close. And I actually thought about getting on the inside and braking later. But for me it wasn’t worth it. So I was waiting the right opportunity. But unfortunately, it didn’t come to an end.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2nd position, with Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, in Parc Fermé
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Leclerc suggested Ferrari’s performance against Red Bull in the Singapore GP showed they were quicker at different stages of the stints.
“There are things we can analyze from this race because Red Bull seems to be very, very good after six/seven laps, and we are very, very good in the first six/seven laps – we will look at that. “, did he declare. said.
Leclerc’s hopes of winning pole from pole were dashed at the start when he had a bad getaway and fell behind Perez.
Asked what happened, Leclerc replied: “I don’t really know yet. Whether it was me who made a mistake in my way of doing things, or if it is something else, it will have to be analyzed.
“The only thing I felt was I had a little wheel spin and lost it, and I saw that Checo had an amazing start. So yeah, that’s how it happened.