Alonso backs Red Bull to be fast ‘when it counts’

Fernando Alonso believes Red Bull will recover its front-running form at the Singapore Grand Prix weekend following its trouble-filled day of practice.

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen ended FP2 at the Marina Bay Circuit in seventh and eighth place respectively.

Both drivers were unhappy with the performance of the RB19 car in Singapore as Red Bull goes in hunt of a clean sweep of Grand Prix wins this year.

The Milton Keynes-based squad has encountered few problems with its challenger this year until its setback in Singapore.

But Alonso expects that it will be competitive once the important sessions arrive on Saturday and Sunday.

"I think [Friday] was just getting confident with the car and the track," Alonso said.

"Ferrari is probably out of reach again like Monza, they are a bit too fast.

“Red Bull will be fast when it counts. It’s very tight, you can be P5, P6 or you can be out of Q3.

“You can be P12 because [if you lose] two-tenths, there are a lot of cars [close together].

"It’s going to be tight, we have to be ready for anything and nail the lap in Q2 and Q3.”

Alonso praises Singapore changes

This year, the Singapore circuit has undergone a major change, with four corners eliminated from the track.

The alterations have been praised by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who says the track has now been "perfected."

Alonso, too, has admitted that he is a fan of the modifications.

"It was fun, I think it was an improvement from the past," he said.

"It was a little bit faster, you get the rhythm into the lap, so I like the change, it was a normal Friday in Singapore. Hot, getting some tests done on the car and the tyres."