Charles Leclerc rues painful Ferrari situation after 'stupid' experiment

Charles Leclerc has bemoaned the difficult position Ferrari finds itself in after another underwhelming performance in qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Monegasque driver will line up in seventh for the 62-lap race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, just behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton in sixth.

Despite trying something "stupid" in a last-ditch attempt to salvage a result from the grid-setting session, Leclerc could not mask his displeasure at being unable to find a remedy for the SF-25's current lack of pace and consistency.

Reflecting on another poor performance from the Italian team to media, including RacingNews365, he said: "We never found the solution, unfortunately. I tried to find consistency in the car throughout the whole weekend, and there was no way out.

"At the end, in Q3, I just said: 'Okay, let's try something a little bit stupid with the front wing, try and rotate the car. Anyway, it's unpredictable with understeer, it will still be unpredictable with oversteer, but at least I prefer that.'

"[I] managed to do a good lap on the scrub [used tyre], but then put the new one on, and the feeling was completely different. So yeah, I didn't find my way around."

When it was queried what specifically he tried with his late experiment, he confirmed: "Yeah, more front wing, but it didn't really help anything."

'It's not something that I enjoy'

Ferrari's precarious position in the F1 constructors' standings is looking even more bleak after failing to show up in qualifying under the bright lights of Singapore.

The Scuderia slipped behind Mercedes in the fight for second in Baku, and is just 14 points ahead of Red Bull in fourth.

With George Russell and Kimi Antonelli lining up first and fourth for the race in the Southeast Asian city-state — and Max Verstappen also on the front row — the Maranello-based team has considerable work to do.

When asked by RacingNews365 if the frustration with the deficiencies of the SF-25 was starting to build, Leclerc agreed.

"For sure," he responded. "It's not a nice feeling, when you put a really good lap in, you are P6, P7; when you do a small mistake in Q1, you are out in Q1 — this is the kind of situation we are in at the moment.

"And it's not something that I enjoy, but it's a situation where, anyway, I need to give my best and try to bring the team back to the top. But, yeah, it's not easy."

Like the previous round, in Azerbaijan, Singapore is one of the 27-year-old's favourite venues to visit. However, neither has been a happy hunting ground for Leclerc this year, something that has caught him off guard.

"Very surprising," the eight-time grand prix winner replied to being asked if his current form has come as a surprise.

"Very surprising, because whether it's Baku or Singapore, these are two of my favourite tracks of the season, where I've been performing particularly well — and also as a team, we perform particularly well. And these last two weekends have been off pace."