Red Bull express 'disappointment' at missed Max Verstappen opportunity

Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché has expressed his disappointment after the Singapore Grand Prix, suggesting the Milton Keynes-based squad "missed an opportunity" at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Speaking exclusively to RacingNews365, the Frenchman reflected on how the six-time constructors' champion was "not aggressive enough" with setting up the RB21 to fully utilise its recently rejuvenated package.

An updated floor, which was introduced at Monza, vaulted Max Verstappen back to grand prix-winning form. This, grouped with revised ways of working across a race weekend and a set-up breakthrough, has dragged the Dutchman back into — albeit distant — contention for a fifth successive F1 drivers' championship.

However, expectations were low heading into the round in the Southeast Asian city-state, given the high-downforce nature of the track, which has not suited Red Bulls of late.

As such, Marina Bay is a venue the team has struggled at through the current generation of ground effects F1 cars, but an updated front wing on the RB21 appeared to subvert the usual order of things this year.

Verstappen was in contention for pole position, only to be disrupted by the turbulent wake of Lando Norris' McLaren on his final push lap in Q3. Nonetheless, the 28-year-old lined up for the grand prix in second, behind George Russell.

Unable to capitalise on using the softest compound of Pirelli rubber at the start, the four-time F1 drivers' champion, who has yet to win in Singapore, settled into second, putting on a defensive masterclass to keep Norris in the leading MCL39 at bay.

Verstappen held on, taking the chequered flag five seconds after the Mercedes ahead, with the McLaren in third, to reach the rostrum for a fourth successive round.

Whilst Yuki Tsunoda endured a difficult weekend, a crash back to reality after the relative highs of Baku, it was put to Waché that he must be happy with how things unfolded overall in Singapore.

Although the 50-year-old could not hide his lingering dissatisfaction, replying: "I'm happy with the potential of the car. Maybe we didn't use it fully.

"I'm a little bit disappointed with what we've done, personally, with what I've done. But yeah, the car is better.

"The drivers could use it more. And I think maybe we missed an opportunity, but it's a good feeling for the end of the year."

Glass half empty

Expanding on his glass-half-empty appraisal of the performance, Waché argued the team had been too conservative with setting up the RB21.

When asked what he meant by his personal disappointment, the French engineer admitted the end product was not reflective of what Red Bull could have achieved.

"Because I think we were maybe not aggressive enough on the setup side, to extract the most potential of the car, is what I'm saying," he explained.

The Singapore Grand Prix was viewed as a litmus test for the revised package, given the nature of the circuit.

It was one that the team ultimately passed, and with lesser, medium-speed tests — a track profile team principal Laurent Mekies recently claimed McLaren "killed" Red Bull on at Zandvoort — to come in Austin and Mexico City, the jump Red Bull made in Marina Bay bodes well for the final six rounds of the campaign.

"I hope so," Waché concluded. "Even with what the others have in terms of performance," he added of McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari.