Max Verstappen has explained that Singapore simply wasn’t a good Formula 1 track for the RB19. From Japan onwards you can now win all the races again until the end of the season.
“Even if we had had the perfect set-up, it would still have been a tougher weekend for us,” says Max Verstappen a few days after the Singapore Grand Prix. The race was the first in the 2023 Formula 1 season that Red Bull failed to win.
It was already suspected before the weekend that there could be problems in Singapore. In addition, the set-up was not done well, which is why the race was “a little more difficult” than it already was, said Verstappen.
But what exactly went wrong last weekend? “We have a lot of ideas,” explains Verstappen, and teammate Sergio Perez confirms: “There are some good indications that we probably approached the weekend with the wrong set-up.”
What exactly didn’t fit would remain “internal,” said the Mexican. And Verstappen emphasizes that we will only find out “next year” at the Singapore Grand Prix whether the weak point from this year has actually been found.
“The simulator is good up to a certain point. But ultimately the real track is always a little different,” he reminds. That’s why we don’t currently have a final answer to the question of what went wrong last weekend.
“Of course it’s a bit annoying in a certain way,” admits Verstappen, but the goal is to improve the car “for such routes” anyway. “I think we’ve been to the other road courses [in diesem Jahr] “Okay,” Verstappen looks back.
Verstappen: Street circuits just don’t suit us that much
“But we know that it’s not our strength,” he emphasizes, explaining that they weren’t “super dominant” on the other street circuits this season either. As a result, the defeat in Singapore was not such a big issue internally.
“We didn’t win a race. Shit happens. Before that we won ten in a row,” recalls Verstappen, who emphasizes that he “of course” wanted to win in Singapore too. At the same time, he knew that his winning streak would come to an end at some point.
“Unfortunately it was this weekend. But we’ll just carry on and try again,” he explains very pragmatically and emphasizes that Red Bull is “not really worried” after Singapore because most of the other tracks are completely different be Singapore.
“And we have to be strong there,” emphasizes Verstappen and explains: “Of course you’re constantly trying to improve the car. But sometimes you can’t improve everything at the same pace.” And apparently the RB19 just didn’t fit the Singapore track that well.
Although things went a little better in the race than in qualifying, Verstappen explains that that was simply the “characteristics” of the car and that it had been that way “the whole year”. “But even in the race we weren’t where we should have been,” the world champion explains.
The racing pace was “okay”, but nothing more. Teammate Perez confirms: “I think we were more competitive in the race than in qualifying. But we still weren’t that competitive.” Verstappen therefore considers the question of what would have been possible with better qualifying to be pointless.
Verstappen demands: Our performance should be recognized!
“We simply weren’t competitive enough in qualifying. Then you don’t deserve to be in the top 5,” he shrugs. After both Red Bull drivers were eliminated in Q2 on Saturday, they still finished the race in P5 and P8.
Many fans of the premier class were pleased that a team other than Red Bull won a Formula 1 race for the first time since November 2022. However, Verstappen makes it clear that it doesn’t matter to him personally that many spectators enjoyed the race.
“To be honest, I have no interest in that at all. For me, we were just clearly beaten. I don’t think about what’s good for Formula 1,” he emphasizes and explains that Red Bull’s previous winning streak was also “not “absolutely bad”.
Red Bull had previously won 15 races in a row “because we were simply better than everyone else,” said Verstappen, who made it clear: “And if people can’t appreciate that, then they aren’t real fans.” In the opposite case, he also sees his own defeat in a relaxed manner.
He doesn’t have a problem with it, “because we didn’t perform. Others did a better job than us. Then they deserve to win,” he clarifies. Red Bull could return to the top again this weekend in Suzuka.
“It should be a good track for us,” believes Verstappen, and teammate Perez emphasizes that that is “definitely the goal.” “We still don’t fully understand what went wrong in Singapore. We have some ideas, but of course this route is completely different.”
Red Bull confident for Suzuka and the further races
“So there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be strong at Suzuka. In fact, it should be one of the best tracks for us,” hopes the Mexican, who explains that Suzuka already felt “good” in the simulator. That was not the case in Singapore a week earlier.
Apart from that, Verstappen also has McLaren on the bill. The team has made “a lot of progress,” he praises, “and they are usually pretty good at high speeds,” reminds Verstappen, who expects McLaren to be “pretty strong.”
At the same time, the Dutchman also confidently makes it clear: “I still think that from now on we [bis zum Saisonende] can win every race, even if the others bring upgrades and such.” Because the own RB19 has not been further developed for some time.
“It’s normal that some people who have had a somewhat difficult start to the year want to learn more and [ihr Auto] develop over a longer period of time. We have done that in the past. And then maybe they have the chance to win here and there,” said Verstappen.
“But I think our car is still capable of winning every race,” said the Dutchman, who can still set a new Formula 1 record this year despite the defeat in Singapore. He currently has twelve wins this season.
Theoretically, he can still significantly surpass his own record from last year (15 victories) with seven races still remaining. He can take another step towards this this weekend.