As Red Bull heads to Singapore, Max Verstappen isn’t expecting miracles. The team faces a tough weekend on the track they didn’t conquer last year—could they slip to fourth place or even lower?
The only race Red Bull didn’t win last year? It was Singapore, which is on the calendar this weekend.
Given that Red Bull is struggling much more than last year, should we expect Milton Keynes to be only the fourth-strongest team on the grid this weekend? Or even worse?
Is Max Verstappen already anticipating battling for 6th or 7th places in Singapore?
“I know it won’t be our easiest weekend. But, of course, if we analyze last year’s race, there are things that could have been done better. That’s what we’ll try to fix this weekend. But yes, I don’t expect it to suddenly be one of our best weekends.”
“I just hope that what we did in Baku has stabilized the car a bit more. That was positive. And I hope we can build on that and see what happens here. I mean, of course, it’s normally a bit bumpier here than in Baku, but I hope the car can handle it.”
Max Verstappen’s goals aren’t high: just a Q3!
“I’m convinced we can do better than last year. But at the same time, of course, the competition has naturally improved a lot. But yes, I’m definitely aiming for Q3, but we’ll see where we end up.”
Did Red Bull learn more about their car in Baku? With some new parts?
“I think it was quite good to see some parts on the car. And yes, I hope we can work from there.”
“In general, our car isn’t good on bumps and curbs. And that’s, of course, what you have here in Singapore. So we need to try to stabilize the situation a bit.”
A second half of the season of suffering for Red Bull and Max Verstappen?
In the championship, 59 points separate Lando Norris from Max Verstappen—a comfortable yet fragile lead given Red Bull’s current lack of competitiveness.
Is Max Verstappen prepared for a tight duel with McLaren F1 all the way to Abu Dhabi?
“It’s not a matter of mental preparation. I just want to make the car faster and better balanced. If I can achieve that with the team, I know we can be very competitive again. And that’s the only thing I can do. I mean, there’s no secret. You know, we just need to find a bit more performance and make our lives a bit easier.”
Does the Dutchman see Red Bull suddenly regaining competitiveness with his car, or will Max Verstappen struggle until the end?
“From now on, of course, we want to take steps forward. When and how that will happen, I don’t know yet. But we’re simply trying to restore the balance.”
“I think Baku was already a small step forward, so we need to continue on this path. And yes, of course, here this weekend, we can’t really change much since Baku, but I hope that with the two or three weeks we have, we can make some additional improvements. There are still a few Grands Prix where I think we can improve the car, which will also help us for next year.”
Does Max Verstappen dislike Singapore? Why are his results there more disappointing? Why such a miss last year on this circuit?
“I don’t know. Different setups. Last year, everything went wrong starting from qualifying because the rules, of course, don’t allow you to change anything on the car. You’re stuck with it, and that’s what happened. As soon as I started qualifying, I knew the car was screwed. Yes, I tried to optimize the car all the time, and this time, it didn’t work.”
“I’ve been on the podium in Singapore. Unfortunately, in recent years, I think the car hasn’t been the best. Yes, we’ve struggled with bumps and curbs. Sometimes, you know, it doesn’t work, whereas in other races, luck is a bit more on your side—or naturally, the car is in a better window on those tracks and comes to you a bit more. But here, so far, it hasn’t been like that. But yes, we’ll see if that changes.”
Behind the scenes, could Max Verstappen be destabilized (or reassured) by the promotion of Lambiase, his personal engineer… who, in addition to his current role as race engineer, will also be responsible for competition?
“No, that’s not the case. I mean, he’s already more than my race engineer anyway. So I think it’s well thought out and allows the workload to be distributed a bit. For me, it’s very good.”
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Red Bull Braces for Another Singapore Setback Red Bull Braces for Another Singapore Setback
