Red Bull have certainly turned a corner with their RB21 the key to its radical performance improvement came with the new floor in Monza. The team also redesigned their front wing for Singapore with a prominent centre section which stands tall giving Verstappen the front end feel he requires.
Singapore has not been a happy hunting ground for Max or the team in previous years and in Red Bull’s record breaking 2023 season, it was in the city state where their perfect record of wins in the year was broken.
The Marina Bay Circuit is the only venue on the current F1 calendar of 24 races where Verstappen has neither claimed pole nor won the race. Last year at the night race in central Asia, Verstappen was beaten to pole by Lando Norris but came home second in the Grand Prix on Sunday which has been won from pole on ten of the fifteen runnings of the event.
Pirelli tyres not lasting a lap
The Pirelli compound range for Singapore this year is the C5 (hard), C4 (medium) and the C3 (soft) which all the drivers believed was the optimum tyre for qualifying. It became quickly evident that the soft tyre could not be pushed for the entire lap and deliver peak grip at all times, as Lance Stroll discovered to his disappointment having burned through his rubber before the tricky final chicane.
His Aston Martin team mate scraped through to Q2 and Fernando learned from the mistakes of the first session as he saved some of his tyres and was much quicker in sector three. Kimi Antonelli couldn’t contain his eagerness clocking up the quickest time of all in sector two but paid the price come turns 16 and 17.
On Verstappen’s first run in Q3, he clearly left a little too much time on the table in sector one as despite matching Russell in the middle sector and being quickest in the third, he was 0.178 seconds slower than Russell who put it all on the line, hitting the wall on the penultimate corner.
Norris fails to ove aside
Russell improved his time marginally on the final run, but Verstappen who was on track last had improved the deficit to the Mercedes driver through the first two sectors. This set him up nicely to claim pole as the Red Bull driver had been persistently quicker than Russell in the final sector.
Yet on the long run to the final chicane, Lando Norris chose not to slow and allow the world champion a clean run into turn 16 and although he did not impede the Red Bull driver, the dirty air created by his McLaren through Verstappen off line as he entered the chicane.
Max backed out of his lap knowing he cold not improve his time while his race engineer came on the radio and said, “you can thank your mate for that – Hard Luck,. P2.” Verstappen’s response required the mandatory censor bleep on the broadcast as he clearly was furious with Norris.
Max says “it will be remembered”
When asked by David Coulthard in the post qualifying interviews what his race engineer had meant, a frustrated Max said the incident was “noted and will be remembered as well,” with a wry smile.
“That’s what happens when there’s a car in front of you just cruising two seconds in front,” said the Red Bull driver. Max was then asked by Coulthard which driver had broken the gentleman’s agreement over how to move over in qualifying, his reposes was instant – “not Oscar.”
“So that was a bit of a shame, otherwise I think it could have been close for pole. It’s always very exciting here in qualifying. Of course I’m disappointed to not be first, but for us this weekend so far has been really good.
“The car has been very competitive, so for us to be second again is very good.”
Red Bull boss says it “would have been close”
Red Bull team boss Lauren Mekies refused to be drawn on whether Norris cost his driver his first pole position in Singapore, preferring to say “it was disappointing and it would have been very close.”
Speaking on Sky F1, Jenson Button the 2009 F1 champion was asked for his opinion on the issue. “With these cars, you get affected by a car a couple seconds up the road which is a pain but that’s why the move over immediately.
“I think he’s frustrated Lando didn’t move over before the chicane. He doesn’t have to within the regulations but it obviously hurt his front end as he turned into the corner and put him off line.”
Leclerc v Norris: Stewards find Ferrari guilty
Advantage Oscar Pastri
Norris was classified fifth in the final standings and with his team mate and closest rival for the championship in third, he will struggle to close the gap to Piastri tomorrow. Yet the penalty for Verstappen was much greater, given with seven races to go he needs to outscore Piastri by ten points each round on average.
Had he claimed pole ahead of Russell – and given the difficulty the drivers find in overtaking – with Oscar Piastri starting in third the probability of a ten point gain for Verstappen would have been highly likely win the Grand Prix.
With Kimi Antonelli starting in fourth, three of there top four drivers who are currently not expecting to fight for the championship, might mean Piastri needs to take extra care at the start of the race as a tangle with the likes of Antonelli, could see him record his second DNF of the season.
Red Bull target former McLaren driver for their line up
A new development in Red Bull’s driver strategy appears to be emerging, as Helmut Marko has publicly confirmed his interest in former McLaren junior driver Alexander Dunne. Following Dunne’s unexpected departure from McLaren, Red Bull appears ready to evaluate the young Irishman as a potential addition to their driver pool.
Dunne, who is just 19 years old, now finds himself at a crossroads in his career after being released by McLaren by mutual agreement. This opens the door for one of Formula 1’s most ambitious and aggressive young racers to seek a new opportunity. For Red Bull, known for its bold recruitment and fast-tracked junior promotion system, this seems like a natural fit.
Marko told Sky: “Alex Dunne is a very fast, aggressive young driver, so he’s a good fit for Red Bull. And, now that he’s completely free after being released by mutual agreement with McLaren, he’s obviously someone we’ll definitely be talking to.”…. READ MORE
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C3 is hard,
C4 is medium,
C5 is soft…