Charles Leclerc was forced to ditch his private jet bound for the Singapore Grand Prix and take a four‑hour drive from Kuala Lumpur after the aircraft returned to Malaysia for a missed landing slot.
Jet mishap forces road trip
Leclerc’s 185‑mile hop between two Formula One Asian events usually lasts under an hour. Instead, a scheduled delay or a denied landing clearance prompted the Swiss‑Monegasque to land in Malaysia and hunt for a car. In a statement with beIN, he explained, “I missed the slot by like five minutes to be landing on time in Singapore, so I had to land somewhere in Malaysia then look for a car to come here. At the end I eventually got here so I’m happy to be here… just a little bit later than what was planned.”
Other drivers opt for unconventional transit
Leclerc was not alone in scrambling for ground transport. Valtteri Bottas travelled from Sepang to Singapore on a gravel route in a Canyon Grail CFR, promising fans a “new Canyon Grail adventure.” Meanwhile, Max Verstappen stayed aboard his private jet and landed on schedule, much to Leclerc’s amusement.
Race day results: Leclerc sticks to second‑place start
Despite the travel disruption, Leclerc spun through the sprint race, finishing third on a wet track. He secured pole‑position, then launched from second on the grid for the main race, holding that spot until the checkered flag. He was 7.335 seconds shy of Verstappen’s victorious laps, with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli taking third place on the podium.
Ferrari’s strategy analysis
Leclerc admitted the team felt strong early but suffered higher wear in the first stint. “We were quite strong at the beginning of the race, then we started degrading a bit more in the first stint,” he said. He added that the team’s different plan for the virtual safety car “believed in it until the very end, but I pushed a lot at the beginning of that last stint and degraded a bit more than the others.”
Merciless new parts, more upgrades needed
Leclerc praised Ferrari’s new parts for their contribution but emphasized further development was required. “It’s not enough. We’ll push to the end and we’ve still got to bring some new things to the car to be at the level,” he declared, underscoring the limited gap between performance and championship aspirations.
Looking ahead—Austin will see a conventional transfer
With the season now set to resume in Austin, Leclerc hopes the next bout of travel will be a straightforward jet hop rather than a road trip, a prospect that could make the Monegasque’s preparations smoother for future races.
"