Having suffered a major blow in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix 12 months ago, Max Verstappen surely did not expect to go through an even worse experience this year.
Particularly as he has dominated the 2023 season so far. He arrived in Singapore having established a new record by winning all of the previous ten races.But at the track where he qualified only eighth last year after having to abort his final run due to a miscalculation by his team, a litany of problems left him 11th on the grid this weekend. And he should be grateful to come away with as much as that, having collected no grid penalties for any of the three infringements he was investigated for after the chequered flag fell on qualifying.
Red Bull did not appear to be at their sharpest during practice but Verstappen nonetheless ended final practise inside the top four and within 2/10 of a second of the quickest time. It did not appear as though alarm bells were ringing, and that impression remained throughout much of Q1.
But at the end of that session it started to become clear how much trouble Red Bull were in. Astonishingly, neither Verstappen nor his team mate Sergio Perez made it beyond Q2. As usual, Verstappen did not disguise his growing frustration in his radio exchanges with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
Q1
First run
Verstappen’s first effort in Q1, running on the soft tyres, was a 1’32.862, a whisker under three tenths of a second slower than his team mate managed. During his two cool-down laps between runs Lambiase gave him pointers on where he could find the lost time, and he duly produced a lap almost half a second quicker.
Speaker | Message |
---|---|
Lambiase | We’ll have a double slow please, Max. Okay, so initial laps Norris 32.5, Checo 32.5, yourself 32.8, Sainz 32.9, Leclerc 32.5. |
Lambiase | Losses to Checo five, seven, nine, 13, 14. |
Lambiase | I think we can target plus three to plus four opening this second push lap, Max, keeping the double slow. Initial balance feedback? |
Verstappen | Yeah, it’s pretty similar to before for me. |
Lambiase | Okay, understood. |
Verstappen | Yeah, let’s try the tyres [unclear]. |
Lambiase | Initial feedback Max I would say is maybe you open the lap a little bit cool on tyres. |
Lambiase | Tyres look fine, Max. I think you’ve built yourself some margin there to create a gap. |
Lambiase | Okay box Max, keep up the pace on the way in, please. |
Lambiase | Keep up the pace on the way in, please, Max, thank you. Thoughts on flap, Max? |
Verstappen | It’s okay. |
Lambiase | Okay understood. |
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Queue in the pits
The first hint of trouble for Verstappen came as he dawdled at the pit lane exit before beginning his final flying run. George Russell and Charles Leclerc behind him were not impressed at the Red Bull sitting stationary for the best part of 15 seconds. The stewards considered whether Verstappen had impeded them, and chose to issue him a reprimand.
Lambiase | Everything okay, Max? Looks like… |
Verstappen | Yeah just a little… |
Lambiase | Yeah okay, that looks okay now, mate. |
Verstappen | A lot of cars ahead. |
Lambiase | Understood, Max. You’ve got margin at the moment on the tyres, they’re in a better place already. |
Queue on the track
Verstappen had taken his time leaving the pits in an effort to avoid catching traffic at the end of the lap before beginning a flying run. He was not successful, as almost half the field congregated at the final chicane and got in each other’s way.
Lambiase kept Verstappen aware of how long he could afford to wait before starting his lap, and also warned him of the approaching Logan Sargeant. Verstappen made room for the Williams, and the stewards later declared themselves satisfied he had not impeded his rival.
Verstappen | Can you keep me up to date, please, with the cars? |
Lambiase | Yes. It’s six cars to go and you’ve got Russell and co. all behind you. |
Lambiase | Focus on the tyre management, Max. Don’t get into those silly games will you, thanks. I don’t understand where they expect you to go. Tyres in a much better window, by the way. |
Lambiase | Okay you need to get ready to go, now, Max. |
Verstappen | Mate there’s so many fucking cars! |
Lambiase | So Sergeant is coming through, okay. That’s 24 seconds to green. Then Alex is coming through as well. Okay we need to get going onw, Max. Should be fine. Get going now. Okay need to go- |
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Turn 14 error
Following that disrupted start, Verstappen’s final lap did not go well. Lambiase urged him not to abandon it, but when Verstappen locked up at turn 14 Verstappen exclaimed in frustration and backed off.
Seconds later, Lance Stroll smashed into the barrier at turn 19 and the session was red-flagged, so no other driver could improve their time. That included several drivers ahead of Verstappen who might have beaten his time, but not enough to have put him at risk of failing to reach Q2.
Verstappen | [Unclear] the lap. |
Lambiase | Keep pushing, Max. |
Verstappen | Locked up again in this shit corner. Fuck’s sake. Shit balance. |
Lambiase | Red flag. |
Q2
Stroll’s crash meant there was a significant delay between the end of Q1 and the start of Q2. While other drivers found substantial improvements on the cooling track, Verstappen did not – his first effort was barely a tenth of a second quicker than his fastest time of Q1, even though he set that mark early in the session.
Little was said on the radio besides the usual messages about positioning and traffic. Unfortunately for Verstappen, at the very moment he tried to give some feedback on his car, Lambiase was trying to warn him about Yuki Tsunoda approaching from behind. He got in the AlphaTauri driver’s way, and was fortunate to escape with only a reprimand.
Impeding Tsunoda
Verstappen | I do not have bite in the fronts. The car is really bad in low speed. |
Lambiase | Tsunoda behind, timed lap. |
Verstappen | Okay, well… |
Lambiase | Alex behind, timed lap. |
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Elimination
Verstappen was able to find more time on his final run in Q2. But remarkably his 1’32.173 was no quicker than his team mate had managed in Q1.
It was enough to temporarily put him into Q3. However to his dismay Liam Lawson pipped him by seven-thousandths of a second. That spelled an early end to Verstappen’s qualifying session.
Lambiase | Slow button on please Max, slow button. |
Verstappen | I don’t understand. Fucking shocking. Absolutely shocking experience. |
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2023 Singapore Grand Prix
- Sainz’s Singapore win made Leclerc focus on improving his race pace – Clear
- Singapore and Austin retirements cost me top 10 championship place – Ocon
- How Ocon’s “extreme” height for an F1 driver is helping other tall racers
- Steward’s admission Verstappen should have had penalty frustrates his rivals
- Drivers back Singapore qualifying tweak as rule changes again for Japanese GP
Jin
16th September 2023, 22:30
It’s a very unique track in every way.
Warm and humid (much more than Sao Paulo), night race (cooler tarmac), mechanical grip heavy track. Maybe the gambled with setup. High change of rain tomorrow.
Jere (@jerejj)
17th September 2023, 4:27
Not really a high chance, but either just track characteristics & or setup mistake unless they also struggle in Suzuka in which case TD45 would more likely be the contributor.
Coventry Climax
16th September 2023, 22:49
If it was the new TD, like some suggest, then I doubt they’d complain about not understanding things.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
16th September 2023, 23:17
The commentators paraphrased Vettel saying that Verstappen is comfortable being uncomfortable.
I do not think that means what they think it means.
Yellow Baron
16th September 2023, 23:54
All of this was just sensationalism on overdrive. From last season wax lyrical about how max had changed so much from 2021 now so calm and serene when it was it was never possible to make that claim due a lack of a real threat for the last 12+ months.
Honestly not surprised that seb chimed in with the same tune either.
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
17th September 2023, 5:11
LOL! Guess he isn’t a fan of expanding the grid to 26 cars.
Also… how lucky he is to be part of RBR/Liberty’s FIA new zero-grid penalty for 2 infractions or more. ;-)
osnola
17th September 2023, 8:49
Should we be happy with an expanding grid?
Even now q1 is often a mess. They will have to adapt the quali to create room for more cars on the tracks.
Davethechicken
17th September 2023, 7:23
Max missed q3 by 0.007s with a lap full of mistakes. A clean lap and he would easily have made q3.
I expect red bull to have the fastest car by some margin on race day, with a straightforward win if drivers can use its potential.
Moi
17th September 2023, 9:23
If this was Spa, then perhaps. But it’s Singapore, so I’d be surprised if he gets into the top 6 to be honest.
SteveP
17th September 2023, 9:24
I don’t think the word “easily” is appropriate in that sentence.
Without the mistakes, Q3 was possible, but even in Q3 he’d have been well down the order.
The problem is that, contrary to idolising comments, he does make mistakes when under pressure.
The low number of mistakes in the last season+half is down to a lack of pressure arising from a massively dominant car.
Where he has made mistakes, he has escaped without any notable consequence.
HJ
17th September 2023, 9:38
I think that RBR needs a favourable red flag to get close to the podium…
MadMax (@madmax)
17th September 2023, 8:14
The swearing bully is back…