SINGAPORE - Shirts, caps, sunglasses. Whatever was thrust in front of Charles Leclerc as he strolled around the Pit Building on Thursday, the Ferrari driver stopped, flashed a smile and signed.
He might have cut a relaxed figure at the Singapore Grand Prix but inside him surely bubbled an impatience. After all, his last victory was at the Austrian Grand Prix in July and since then, his nemesis Max Verstappen has won five straight races - and 11 overall - to seize complete control of the drivers' championship.
Even if Leclerc, who was on pole here in 2019 but finished second to then teammate Sebastian Vettel, triumphed on Sunday it would only delay Verstappen's inevitable coronation.
Leclerc, 24, has incredibly topped qualifying eight times from 16 races in 2022 yet taken just three chequered flags and finds himself 116 points behind his Red Bull rival.
He said: "I hope we can finally get a win back because that Austrian win feels like forever so I really hope we can be on the top step of the podium."
His last outing, three weeks ago in Monza, followed a similar pattern. Pole on Saturday, runner-up to Verstappen on Sunday.
This was the same scenario in Miami, Barcelona, Baku and Le Castellet, leading to criticism from former Scuderia boss Jean Todt who told Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport that he "still lacks something" while 1996 world champion Damon Hill said he sensed "anxiety" within Leclerc.
No wonder Leclerc spent the break recharging and preparing for the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
He said: "Took just a bit of time off at home and obviously quite a bit of preparation, inside saunas or extreme heat, because this is the case here. I need to be ready for this challenge."
His engineers have reportedly brought upgrades for the bottom and wings of Leclerc's F1-75 in a bid to improve his chances.
He was cautiously optimistic though. He noted: "It's always a huge challenge here in Singapore with the heat. This is a very, very long race (61 laps around the 23-turn layout) and a street track by night.
"There are loads of things adding up but that's what makes it exciting and such a special weekend. I'm looking forward to it."
He was also eyeing some downtime on Monday, with his two best friends and girlfriend in town with him.
"I've got a full day here so we'll go around and try to discover a little bit more of this city," he said.
A long-overdue victory on Sunday night would certainly help him leave here with much fonder memories.
