SINGAPORE (Reuters) -While McLaren celebrated another constructors' title and Mercedes' George Russell tasted his first Singapore Grand Prix victory on Sunday, rivals Ferrari were left ever more despondent after a race plagued by brake issues for both drivers.
With just six races remaining in the season, the Scuderia have not won a race in 2025 and are struggling to compete against Mercedes and Red Bull for second place in the constructors' standing.
Charles Leclerc finished sixth at the Marina Bay street circuit on Sunday, while his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, was eighth after being docked a five-second penalty for repeatedly leaving the track as he struggled with his brakes.
"We don't have the race car to fight with the guys in front," Leclerc told reporters.
"McLaren always had the same gap on us compared to the beginning of the year, Red Bull did a step from Monza and are the same level of McLaren. Mercedes now is at the same level of McLaren and Red Bull, and then there's us."
Ferrari's 2025 Formula One season has thus far been a disappointment, with issues in car performance and execution.
While there were high expectations that the Italian outfit would once more be challenging for the title following the signing of seven-times world champion Hamilton, the 40-year-old Briton has yet to lift a trophy for his new team.
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur said Sunday's brake issues came as a surprise, and expressed his dissatisfaction at the team's recent run of lacklustre performances.
The last time a Ferrari driver stood on the podium was at Belgian Grand Prix in July when Leclerc finished third.
"What is mega frustrating is that the last two weekends... in Baku and then Singapore, at the beginning of the weekend, the pace was there, and we didn't extract the best from the car," Vasseur said.
"We are struggling. All the race, to be on the back foot, for the team it's mega frustrating. If we are not able to fix the issues there's no way to fight."
(Reporting by Rae Wee, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
