Second place – The ideal result for Red Bull in Singapore
Heading off the pair of Friday practice sessions, Red Bull and Max Verstappen looked downbeat in Singapore. The signs of last season’s horror show loomed large. The other Red Bull of Sergio Perez ended the day eighth fastest in FP2, while Verstappen, on the other hand, rounded out Singapore’s Friday in P15. He sat some 1.2 seconds off the pace of session leader Lando Norris under the lights of Singapore.
Red Bull supremo Helmut Marko too had his say on Red Bull’s struggles. “We can’t accept that,” he said. “We have to sort things out to make sure that we are more competitive. I just watched and we are on the same pace as Colapinto.” The Williams rookie, meanwhile, sat only 0.034 seconds off the triple world champion’s time.
Cut to Sunday, Verstappen and Red Bull were much happier to salvage P2 at the end of 62 racing laps around Singapore. The Red Bull racer simply couldn’t match the pace of Norris ahead, but faced no immediate threat from the Mercedes behind. Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri eventually finished almost 21 seconds behind Verstappen.
But just how did it all line up in Verstappen’s favour for his joint-best result around Marina Bay?
Red Bull and Verstappen improve the car run upon at Singapore
Around Friday night’s free practice session, Red Bull and Verstappen ran the car at a lower downforce setting around Marina Bay. The Red Bull racer thus experienced plenty of discomfort warming up the tyres.
Additionally, while Singapore’s first and third sectors are comprised of straights, the second sector consists of slower corners. A low downforce set-up would have meant Verstappen compromised this important sector for a few kilometres of straight-line speed. Additionally, Verstappen would wear his tyres out more with a low downforce set-up. With lesser downforce into the slower corners in sector two, he would have to use up more road, thereby using up more tyre.
Singapore’s lengthy pit stops also meant there was no option for an extra pit stop. Drivers and teams wouldn’t find much incentive to try a unique strategy. Tyre management would have to be the name of the game around the physically draining Singapore Grand Prix.
Verstappen going onto a better set-up helped his case for the weekend. As he described, the team ‘improved the car run by run’. In FP3, the gap had narrowed to 0.8s to Norris ahead.
Qualifying at Singapore: Red Bull and Verstappen warm up the tyres well
The tricky qualifying session presented unique challenges to Red Bull and Verstappen. With drivers struggling to generate grip into their tyres, it was difficult to lay down a clean lap time. Once again, both the team and driver continued to improve the car with every session.
Verstappen too suffered an off, the Dutchman experiencing a lairy off at the final corner in Q2. He managed to keep it cool and composed, however, eventually recording a time good enough to make it into Q3.
In the top ten shootout, Verstappen and Red Bull were fortunate to be able to generate tyre temperature. With the red flag induced by Sainz’s clash, qualifying effectively became a one-lap shootout. While some drivers found themselves with extremely cold tyres, Red Bull and Verstappen were fortunate to fire up the tyres into the right window. He believed he had a shot at victory with a front-row start.
Damage limitation for Red Bull and Verstappen on Sunday in Singapore
While Red Bull and Verstappen may have been fairly bullish after Saturday, their focus quickly turned to limiting the damage. Verstappen’s best hopes of a victory lay on Norris getting a poor start off pole and Verstappen inheriting the race lead. After all, Norris hadn’t led lap 1 after starting from pole.
However, Norris finally made it stick off the five red lights. A clean getaway for the pole-sitter saw Verstappen having to fend off a fast-starting Lewis Hamilton on the soft tyres. A stern defence into turn one saw the Dutchman keep hold of an important second place.
Verstappen managed to keep clear of the chasing Mercedes, with Hamilton’s soft tyres starting to drop off almost immediately. This meant the Red Bull racer could breathe easy in second. A yawning gap behind, coupled with the Mercedes’ lack of race pace eased up his race.
Although, he would simply not have the same level of pace as Norris ahead. The Briton opened up a 20-second lead in only 25 laps of racing. Despite a couple of close shaves with the wall, Norris still won the race by a whopping 20-second margin for McLaren. Verstappen was left satisfied with second, although he expected Red Bull to be fighting for victory more often.
“I think on a weekend where we knew that we were going to struggle, to be P2 is a good achievement. Of course, we are not happy with second. Now we just have to try and improve more and more, and that’s what we’ll try to do,” the Dutchman expressed.
The Ricciardo intervention, and the road ahead for Verstappen and Red Bull
With some help from his good friend Daniel Ricciardo, who pitted and snatched the fastest lap point from Norris ahead, the gap reduced from 59 to 52 points, as opposed to 51. In a season of fine margins, every point makes a difference.
Singapore was expected to be a tough location for Red Bull, given their tumultuous time around the streets in 2023. However, Verstappen’s ability to extract the maximum from a tough weekend saw the triple world champion concede only seven points to Norris ahead.
After impressive damage limitation on a tough track, Verstappen will be looking forward to a month’s period of rest. The paddock will then reconvene for the Americas triple-header at Austin, from October 18-20. As the championship battle heats up, the Dutchman will continue to ensure he maintains his championship lead, keeping his bid for a fourth world title stronger than ever.
