Verstappen knows Singapore weekend was 'anamoly' - Horner

Max Verstappen knows that Red Bull's slump in performance at the Singapore Grand Prix was just an "anomaly", according to Christian Horner.

The Milton Keynes-based squad struggled throughout the weekend at the Marina Bay Circuit, with Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez failing to advance into Q3 during qualifying as the team could perfect the set-up of the RB19.

Race pace was stronger as Verstappen took fifth and Perez eighth as the gamble to start on the Hard tyres did not pay off with the timing of the first Safety Car early in the race.

Carlos Sainz won as Verstappen's run of 10 straight wins, Red Bull's 15 and its hopes of winning every race in the season ended, but Verstappen still enjoys a 151 point lead in the standings heading to the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Horner on Verstappen

"Max has won 10 races in a row, he’s leading the World Championship by almost double the points of anybody else and he's got plenty of reasons to be happy with life at the moment," Horner told media including RacingNews365.

"He knows this was an anomaly and hopefully, we can be competitive again next week [in Japan]

"He cares and he wants it, he's most competitive driver we've ever worked with.

"That's who he is. When he gets in a car, he'll give you 110%, and that's exactly what he's done [in the race].

"He's just a very honest guy, doesn't hide his emotions and he was disappointed in [qualifying] as of course, the whole team was but he brushed himself down and came back fighting and put in a great drive."