Clear: Sainz winning 2023 Singapore GP hit home to Leclerc

While Leclerc has always been considered the future of Ferrari, with Sainz making way for seven-time Formula 1 champion, Lewis Hamilton at the team in 2025, the Spaniard has managed to put the Monegasque under pressure.

One of these occasions was the Singapore GP last year, a race won by Sainz from pole after an impressive drive where he kept McLaren's Lando Norris, and Mercedes' George Russell, and Hamilton at bay.

While Leclerc arrived in Singapore as the favorite of the Ferrari drivers to deliver a better result, as he had previously taken pole twice at the Marina Bay Circuit, in 2019 and 2022.

But it was Sainz who had the upper hand in 2023, and Clear, speaking to the F1 Nation podcast, reflected on that weekend and how Leclerc dealt with the challenge Sainz posed in general.

He said of Leclerc: "I think he's responded well to a very strong teammate. We've long talked about the qualities of Carlos and the fact is, Carlos probably doesn't quite have that edge of pace that Charles can show in qualifying, but you look at Singapore last year and that really hit home to Charles.

"That was a race that Charles would have gone there as a favourite to win. He often goes there with a lot of confidence, and for Carlos to nick that one under his nose really hurt. I think that sort of thing has made him focus on: ‘okay, I really need to get the job done on Sunday.’

"That's not to say he never thought that, but it does mean you change your focus slightly, if you take it away from, ‘okay, we just need to get the best qualifying car we can and get a qualifying lap, and then it'll all happen on a Sunday.’

"I think you're just seeing a better representation of Charles and of us as a race driver, as a race car, as a race team," Clear maintained.

Leclerc has always been considered as a great qualifier, his 26 pole positions a clear proof of that, but his racing skills have always been under the scrutiny, as he has only won seven times in comparison.

But Clear insists that view is unfair to Leclerc, insisting the latter has improved. He explained: "People tended to say to me two or three years ago, ‘yeah but he’s nowhere near as good in the race as he is in qualifying’.

"That’s not really fair. It’s just that he’s very, very good at qualifying, the British engineer insisted before adding: "But, that said, I think this year you have seen the result of a development on the car side and a development on the driver side. I think it's probably true that we've shifted our focus slightly to making the car a better race car.

"Tyre management is always a hot topic. It's not that Charles historically hasn't been good on tyres. I think that we, as a combination, haven't been focused that well on tyres.

"I think what we've seen this year is the result of us being more focused on getting the car working really well in the race and looking after those tyres, and Charles learning from previous years and honing those skills of tyre management," Clear concluded.

In 2024, Leclerc is third in the F1 drivers' championship on 245 points. Sainz is fifth with 190.