Max Verstappen expects Red Bull will be able to bounce back from its nightmare in Singapore Grand Prix qualifying. The team has struggled with setup for most of the weekend, with Verstappen unable to exploit the strengths of the RB19 around the street circuit. After complaining about the drivability due to the harsh upshifts and downshifts during a lap, Red Bull made changes between FP3 and qualifying. Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner believes this compounded its problems , making the car more unsuitable for the demands of the tight Marina Bay Street Circuit. Verstappen elaborated on their problems when speaking to media, including RacingNews365 : "Clearly we just don't understand that issue. Otherwise, you don't make these kinds of changes and it's worse. "We were clearly not understanding the car this weekend around this track."
Verstappen: We knew this would be a bad track
Red Bull is currently on an unbeaten win streak that stretches back to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2022, with it taking all 14 victories in 2023 and 24 of the last 25. Horner said the team needed to be on its 'A-Game' heading into the Singapore weekend, but Verstappen admitted their qualifying session for both cars was messy. The Dutchman expects Red Bull to be back on top at the next round in Suzuka, where he stands a chance of clinching the Drivers' Championship. "You would always take a season like this where we are winning this much and have one really bad weekend, over the other way around where you're not fighting for the championship, then you're winning here," said Verstappen. "But I think it's more important that we just understand what we did wrong this weekend. I'm confident that next week, [when] we're going to Suzuka, the car is faster. "It already felt like that on the simulator that this was a difficult setup window for the car, where then we went to Suzuka and it just felt amazing again."
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