Leclerc explains Ferrari confusion that led to Norris clash in Singapore GP FP2

Charles Leclerc reckons a misjudgement from his Ferrari team was behind the collision with Lando Norris late on in second practice at the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.

Ferrari released Leclerc into the pathway of Norris down the pitlane, causing the Monegasque to drive into the McLaren which subsequently lost its front wing as it then collided with the wall.

This came in the final 20 minutes of a twice red-flagged FP2, with the collision occurring at the second restart in which lots of cars were trying to leave at once due to the limited running.

That included Oscar Piastri being right behind team-mate Norris the whole time, something which Leclerc believes is what threw his Ferrari mechanics off. 

“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 finished ninth in that session, but he had a positive opening practice recording the second-quickest time leaving him upbeat for the weekend. 

“Good FP1, very difficult FP2,” he added. “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.”

There is also promise in the sister Ferrari, as Lewis Hamilton was fourth in opening practice before finishing 10th in FP2, though was top at stages in the second outing.

“It’s generally been a good day,” said Hamilton, who, like Leclerc, awaits his first grand prix win of the year. 

“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.”

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– The Autosport.com Team