Sainz ended Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s record winning streak in Singapore to back up his consecutive pole positions, while a delayed pitstop last weekend left Leclerc to finish fourth.
While the bumpy Marina Bay street circuit and its aggressive kerbs that forced a ride height rise means the Red Bull dip is thought to be only temporary, Ferrari does appear to have taken a stride forward.
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Leclerc reckons using the Dutch GP in August to run extensive set-up tests is key to this turnaround, as Ferrari has sought to tame the unpredictable on-the-limit handling of the SF-23.
Speaking in Singapore, he said: “I really hope it’s possible to repeat in Suzuka and I’m looking forward to seeing that. If we do that then it’s a really good sign for the future.
“In Zandvoort, we’ve done many tests. In Monza, we wanted to re-confirm those tests and the understanding we had from the car.
“From here, we applied everything and it seemed to do a big step forward.
“Having said that, Singapore has historically been a very good track for us so we need to wait one more race in order to see whether we have done a really good step forward consistently or whether it’s a one-off.”
Ferrari introduced an upgraded floor in Miami as part of a development path that was conceived to make the car more predictable, but Leclerc reckons the team has had to rely more on set-up tweaks to settle the handling.
Source: Autosport