Federico Albano wrote that Ferrari had been very quick with the medium tires, but in SQ3 they lost the necessary tenths to fight for pole when it was crucial to extract the maximum from the tires and especially from the engine. In his view, the car was competitive in various phases and direction changes, but it lost speed on the straights due to aerodynamic drag and low power. He added that the gap to Mercedes and Red Bull increased on the straights and decreased in parts of the mixed sections. Albano called Leclerc's lap “super” and wrote that Hamilton had risked everything in SQ3 but had made several mistakes. Until that moment, according to him, Lewis seemed to have an even better pace than Charles, but the Monegasque finished with two very strong laps. The author attributed pole to Verstappen, noting it had yet to be confirmed, and described Red Bull as the strongest team at the moment. According to his analysis, the car was very fast on the straights, stable in the mixed sections, and capable of limiting losses in slow corners. Verstappen had gained 0.3 seconds on Leclerc already at the end of the first sector, all on the straights, Albano wrote. In his opinion, Red Bull had found the right setup, and the data reminded him of 2022: the car had less downforce, but Verstappen's driving style hid the effect, while speed on the straights remained decisive. Albano described Mercedes as disappointed: Russell had clocked 0.5 seconds faster than Antonelli, but the update package, which he described as extensive, costly, and awaited, was not working. He added that Kimi had also refused the new wing. According to the data he examined, the front end was no longer functioning well, exhibiting understeer in medium-speed corners and difficulty turning the car in slow corners; the increase in aerodynamic drag also hindered deployment. Albano wrote that Antonelli struggled even under braking because he no longer trusted the front end and that, despite the differences between the Singapore and Sepang tracks, what he had seen so far reminded him of the same script. According to Albano, McLaren was not far off but had disappointed in terms of track characteristics and seemed to struggle with a lack of grip, especially when maximum performance was needed. He noted that Ferrari and McLaren, on one side, and Red Bull and Mercedes, on the other, were developing different concepts that ended up producing similar characteristics, except for the Mercedes updates, which in his view were not working. Finally, Albano wrote that the sprint would show whether those cars would be able to create overtaking opportunities or if the race would turn into a train, awaiting the decisive qualifying for Sunday. #Formula1 #SingaporeGP #Motorsport (translated)


