Qualifying day is in the books for the Singapore Grand Prix, a Saturday that certainly had no shortage of drama.
Red Bull were the main talking point for all the wrong reasons, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez failing to crack the top 10 for pole, while Lance Stroll left Aston Martin with a huge repair job following a heavy accident in Q1 which fortunately he overcame. far from being unharmed.
We therefore try to update you with all the main titles…
Max Verstappen regrets Red Bull’s qualifying errors
There was a strong feeling ahead of qualifying that Red Bull was not as much trouble as it seemed, the unbeaten team in F1 racing 2023 expected to unlock the pace and challenge for pole position in Singapore.
Apparently, they haven’t even come close with Verstappen set to start the race P11, while Perez, who spun on his final lap of Q2, will start P13.
“I knew it would be difficult to get on pole, but I didn’t expect it,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.
“We struggled all weekend. FP3 actually wasn’t that bad, but then we tried a few other things on the car for qualifying and I think that turned it around and it became undriveable again.”
to know more: Max Verstappen complains about qualifying setup errors that left the RB19 ‘unattainable’
Christian Horner considers Red Bull’s difficulties “very confusing”.
With Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz on pole ahead of George Russell’s Mercedes, while Red Bull isn’t even in the top 10, a big challenge now awaits Red Bull if it wants to maintain its unbeaten status in F1 2023.
Such an alarming drop in pace obviously means something has gone very wrong with the RB19 in Singapore, with team boss Horner attempting to lift the lid on what may have happened to his team.
“It’s very, very confusing to have lowered the pace we had,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“The car just doesn’t respond to changes, you can feel this understeer, oversteer, braking problems – it’s like we couldn’t get the tire into the right working window.”
to know more: Christian Horner offers explanation for Red Bull’s ‘confused’ performance
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Danica Patrick defends Lance Stroll from F1 commitment
Stroll was recently forced to deny rumors that he might quit Formula 1 and pursue a career in tennis, but he certainly has work to do to get his Formula 1 career back on track with Aston Martin.
If this were tennis, then Fernando Alonso could win a series of sets over teammate Stroll at this stage, with his 170-point tally dwarfing Stroll’s 47 ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
His huge shunt in Q1 was then another unwanted setback in his Aston Martin career, although when met with rumors that Stroll’s head and heart were not in play, the former driver IndyCar Danica Patrick leapt to Stroll’s defense.
“Once you strap into the car, you’re in,” Patrick insisted to Sky F1. “You’re a driver, you know what you’re doing.
“Once you get out of the car, sure, there can be distractions, but I don’t question when someone gets in whether or not they put their heart and soul into it. You have to do it, you’re going so fast out there, you’re doing something really challenging that almost nobody can do.
to know more: Pundit denies Lance Stroll lacks F1 ‘heart and soul’ after detour to Singapore
Helmut Marko takes the title from Lewis Hamilton
Off the track there is a legal dispute simmering in Formula 1, revolving around Felipe Massa’s challenge to Hamilton’s 2008 title loss, a dispute now shrouded in controversy following Bernie Ecclestone’s bombshell ‘Crashgate’ update “.
It was in Singapore that year that this scandal occurred, and while Massa now takes the matter to court, Marko couldn’t help but attack Hamilton.
“It was terrible to see Massa celebrate winning the title in Brazil for 20 seconds, and then suddenly it was all over,” Marko told Austrian publication Kronen Zeitung.
“I would like him to win the title – and Mr Hamilton – for whom records are not so important – would have one less…”
to know more: Helmut Marko attacks Lewis Hamilton as he shows support for Felipe Massa’s title bid
Fernando Alonso denies that Lewis Hamilton built the Mercedes era
In fact it was after his 2008 title success that Hamilton truly established himself as Formula 1’s dominant force, going on to win six world titles with Mercedes between 2014 and 2020, including a run of four consecutive titles from 2017 to 2020.
However, his former McLaren teammate Alonso downplayed the role Hamilton played in sparking the Mercedes era.
“I think this is something that’s always said about drivers ‘building’ teams,” he told The Telegraph, “but when Lewis went to Mercedes [in 2013], he didn’t ‘build’ anything. It was just a change in the rules [in 2014] who built everything for him.
to know more: Fernando Alonso rejects the suggestion that Lewis Hamilton “built” the Mercedes of the era
Read later – Alex Albon: ‘I have confidence in myself to keep myself open’ to Williams move
Christian Horner’s article ‘confused’ as Max Verstappen complains ‘undriveable’ Red Bull: F1 news roundup appeared first on Planetf1.com.