Verstappen laments Red Bull pace deficit in Singapore

Max Verstappen admits he was “surprised” at Red Bull’s lack of pace during the qualifying session for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, after he finished fourth-fastest.

The Dutchman was in and around the top group of drivers on the day, but never looked likely to usurp Mercedes or Ferrari to claim pole position, with the Scuderia in particular shocking everyone with their increase in power from yesterday in practice.

The Dutchman is confused by Red Bull’s power deficit, and believes it is something the team needs to investigate before tomorrow’s race.

“From my side I think already the whole qualifying we were just lacking pace,” Verstappen admitted.

“I was not too surprised and in Q3 when everything gets turned up then you lack even more.

"From my side, I think the car felt alright but there was just not enough grip. I wanted to go faster but had all four wheels sliding.

“It’s always difficult to say [if we had a chance for pole].

“On Friday people try different things and here many things can change from one day to another.

Singapore Grand Prix: Starting grid with penalties appliedRead more

“I’m a little bit surprised that after a positive Monza, where normally we are very slow, then you would expect to be really competitive here but we weren’t. Something to look into.”

When asked about Red Bull’s chances for success in the race on Sunday, he appeared to play down and prospect of competing up front.

“I don’t know. We are too slow but we will see tomorrow,” he added.

Charles Leclerc ended up claiming pole position in Singapore, with Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in behind in second and third.

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