Before the race: Can Leclercu win the hattrick?

After showing on Friday that Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton would contend for pole position, Ferrari's Wonder Boy unexpectedly came to the fore on Saturday and won the third pole in the last three races.

With an extraordinary qualifying run, Leclerc surprised the entire caravan, as no one really believed that Ferrari could beat Mercedes in Singapore as well. Alexander Bull's Red Bull described the surprise of the competition by qualification: “Ferrari shocked everyone today.”

The key to the new Ferrari pole was hiding in the tires this time, as the Maranell team managed to keep their tires alive the entire lap, while Mercedes and Red Bull had to sacrifice speed in the first sector for this purpose. Vettel and Leclerc are already the first competitors 30. Weighed a few tenths of a second for a second and then did not let go until the end.

Can Ferrari also transfer its outstanding qualification form to the race? Looking at the times of Friday's race simulation would be hard to say, but Singapore is a specific lane that hides many pitfalls and offers many opportunities. Tire wear is extremely high on the Marina Bay track, and if Leclerc gets off to a good start, he can use the strategy we've seen in Singapore over the years.

Walking is extremely challenging on a Singapore street lane, which means that Leclerc can afford to go on a recreational ride with extreme tire savings at a good start. A similar trick was performed 2015 in Singapore by Sebastian Vettel, who drove 2 to 3 seconds slower than he could in the introductory part of the race. When a competitor tries with The idea of ​​an undercut is to stop a few laps before a racer who The racer with an earlier stop gets the advantage of new tires and can drive faster times than his rival who still rides with worn tires. If the rhythm difference is large enough, his rival will return for him after the stop and undercutt succeeds “It is, in principle, a series of two or three fast laps on fresh tires. There is always a danger here that a racer who is the first to get boxed back into the traffic of slower racers and cannot take advantage of an earlier stop.” href = “https://portal-f1.si/glossary/undercut/”> undercut – om Vettel stepped on the throttle, strung some extraordinary laps and returned to the race without difficulty

So can Leclerc manage to win the hattrick? If he will lead the first corner in the lead, he is well on his way…