Fernando Alonso expects Red Bull will bounce back from its "one off" performance in Singapore for the Japanese Grand Prix. It was the weakest race for the team all season with set-up struggles throughout practice, with neither Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez making it to Q3. The team's run of 15 straight wins ended as did Verstappen's record-breaking 10 in a row while hopes of sweeping every race win on offer in 2023 were also dashed. Part of its problems stemmed from the recent Technical Directive TD018 , with the FIA aiming to clampdown on flexi-wings, with Red Bull one team earmarked as potentially being impacted by it. Team Principal Christian Horner was keen to point out that it was a more track-specific problem, with answers expected at Suzuka over whether the team has been affected by the recent rule clarification over flexible parts.
Alonso: Singapore was also not good for Mercedes
"Track-to-track its very different. Let's see in Japan, I expect Red Bull to dominate to be honest," Alonso told media, including RacingNews365 . "This is one off in Singapore, it was also not good for Mercedes in the past when they were dominating the championship. "So it's a very special race weekend and we were hoping for more in our case, but we didn't deliver. Let's hope for something better in Japan." Alonso's race went from bad to worse after a slow pit-stop under the Virtual Safety Car dropped him to last before a mistake compounded the already poor weekend for the team as he came home out of the points while team-mate Lance Stroll did not start following his qualifying shunt.
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