Under the floodlights of Marina Bay, Scuderia Ferrari HP endured a tense and tightly contested qualifying session that ultimately delivered mixed emotions. Lewis Hamilton will start P6, narrowly missing out on the second row by mere hundredths, while Charles Leclerc lines up just behind in P7 after a promising final lap unraveled in the closing corners.
The day began with FP3, where both drivers focused on race and qualifying simulations using the Medium compound. A red flag interrupted the session after Liam Lawson’s crash at Turn 7, but once running resumed, Hamilton and Leclerc switched to Softs and posted their best times—P8 and P10 respectively.
In Q1, both Ferrari drivers had five sets of new Soft tyres at their disposal. The track evolved rapidly, forcing teams to burn through a second set early. Hamilton responded with a flying lap that topped the timesheets, while Leclerc, despite not improving on his second run, comfortably advanced in P8.
Q2 brought more drama. Both drivers aborted their first flying laps, with Leclerc brushing the wall in Sector 2. On their second attempts, Hamilton provisionally went third, while Leclerc had to dig deep to secure P6. A final tyre set was prepared, but Hamilton didn’t need it—he advanced in P7, just behind his teammate.
In the final showdown of Q3, tyre strategy played a crucial role. Hamilton opted for his last new set of Softs, while Leclerc reused a set from Q1, saving his freshest rubber for the final push. After the first runs, Hamilton sat sixth, Leclerc seventh. On their second attempts, Hamilton improved slightly using used tyres but remained sixth. Leclerc, now on new Softs, looked poised to leap forward until a mistake in the final corners cost him dearly—he stayed seventh.
Despite strong pace earlier in the weekend, the team couldn’t fully unlock the SF-25’s potential when it mattered most. Both drivers reported difficulty getting the tyres into the optimal window, especially in Q3, where their lap times mirrored those from Q1—a sign of stagnation rather than progress.
Driver Reactions
Lewis Hamilton – P6 “There was definitely more in the car today, but the session didn’t run smoothly for us. The balance felt good most of the weekend, but we struggled to get the tyres working in Q3 and that limited what we could do. It’s frustrating not to be further up, but we’re starting from a decent position. We haven’t done any long runs, so there’s a bit of unknown heading into the race. It’s a long one, and the goal is to move forward.”
Charles Leclerc – P7 “It was a tough qualifying, and honestly, it reflects what we’ve seen since Friday. I couldn’t push the car to the limit, and on a street circuit, that makes it even harder to put a lap together. My final Q3 lap was looking strong until the last sector, where I made a mistake. We’ll go through the data tonight and see what we can do to fight back tomorrow.”
Team Principal Fred Vasseur “A frustrating session. Charles had a strong lap going until the final corners, and Lewis was close to the second row. We had good pace on Friday morning, but couldn’t extract it when it counted. The SF-25 is tricky to drive—it’s right on the edge—and our Q3 times were no better than Q1. Tyre prep was difficult, and we didn’t progress as we hoped. Tomorrow will be a different challenge, and we’ll consider an aggressive strategy to make up ground.”
With overtaking notoriously difficult in Singapore, Sunday’s race will demand precision, patience, and bold strategy. The team knows there’s more performance in the package—and with two world-class drivers starting just outside the top five, the fight is far from over.