Charles Leclerc acknowledges that he let an opportunity slip away against Max Verstappen – although not the one that might seem apparent.

The Ferrari driver had to rely on instinct to determine his braking point and aimed to judge it as accurately as possible. Consequently, he does not view it as a missed chance, stating: "I would have done exactly the same."

No regrets in that regard, though Leclerc concedes that he did let a chance to overtake Verstappen slip away a few laps later.

Initially, Verstappen seemed to be pacing himself to conserve his tyres, but the four-time world champion disclosed in the post-race press conference that this wasn’t entirely intentional.

"We encountered a few laps with some deployment issues, which is when Charles almost managed to get past me into Turn 7."

Verstappen managed to keep the lead into Turn 1, despite Leclerc's better launch off the line

Verstappen was not receiving all the electrical power he needed at critical moments, an issue also noted by Arvid Lindblad from Red Bull's sister team Racing Bulls, which utilizes the same power unit.

"Yeah, I also faced issues with the PU, which we're trying to manage. I was being overtaken on the straights and the engine braking was quite poor, making it tough to drive," Lindblad remarked.

For Verstappen, the concern was confined to deployment issues in the early laps of the Singapore Grand Prix, but Leclerc feels he should have capitalized on them.

"There were a few chances in the first three laps when Max had deployment issues, but I thought it was just a one-off, so I wasn't really utilizing my battery, which might have been a mistake," Leclerc admitted.

Every time Verstappen was sluggish on the straights, the Ferrari driver assumed it would be the last instance, leading him not to adjust his own deployment strategy. By the time the issue surfaced again, Leclerc was unable to react.

"When I realized he had no power at the end of the straight, there was nothing I could do. It was too late for me to engage my power."

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

The question remains whether it would have altered the final outcome. Position on track is vital at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and in that scenario, Leclerc would not have had to endure as much time in dirty air. However, he acknowledges that Verstappen was simply too strong and that Red Bull managed their tyres more effectively.

"I’m not sure if it would have made much difference. Certainly, it would have helped during the first stint, but I think ultimately they just had too much pace for us."

Leclerc made another effort towards the end with a different strategy and a second pit stop under the virtual safety car, but a second victory of the season, following his win at Silverstone, ultimately eluded him.

"I’m pleased, but not overly happy. I mean, second place is a solid result given our recent trends, where we’ve been lacking just a bit of pace.

"I believe that, especially in qualifying yesterday, we had strong pace. Today during the race, Max had a bit more pace than us, which was anticipated, but perhaps we were a tad closer than expected.

"It was an exciting race and I believed in it until the very end, but sadly it just wasn't enough."

Nonetheless, it was sufficient for Leclerc to secure his first podium finish since the summer break and his fifth overall this F1 season.