This Sunday (5), at the Singapore Grand Prix of Formula 1, Max Verstappen finished in second place after a difficult race for Red Bull. The Dutchman started in second and maintained his position until the end, while Yuki Tsunoda completed the race in 12th place.
Verstappen commented that the start of the race was more complicated than expected: “We had a difficult start to the race, with little grip on our side of the grid. We opted for the soft compound to try for a better start and seek P1, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out. The car wasn’t as we wanted in terms of setup, and it’s no mystery what went wrong, but we need to analyze that later.”
Despite the difficulties, Verstappen evaluated that the result was the best possible: “Even if the balance was perfect, overtaking here is very difficult, so I believe that second place was the maximum we could achieve. My tires were more worn out in the last stretch, which made management difficult, but we managed to keep Lando (Norris) behind, and that’s what mattered.”
The Dutchman also praised McLaren for their performance throughout the season: “Congratulations to McLaren on the Constructors’ title, they totally deserve it, and I’m very happy for them. Overall, we can be satisfied with the weekend. Singapore is not our favorite track, but we maximized the result today. We understand the car much better now and have definitely improved in the last few races.”
Yuki Tsunoda, who started in 13th, had a difficult race and fell out of the points zone: “The first lap today was the worst I’ve ever had. I lost many positions and simply had no space to move, every time I tried, there was another car blocking the way. The most frustrating thing is that my pace today was really very good, the best I’ve had since I’ve been with the team, and certainly enough to score points.”
Despite the difficulties, the Japanese driver highlighted that he has been feeling more confident in the car in recent races.
“The performance in both long and short simulations is great, the opposite of what it was before Baku. Even with a small damage to the car today, I still felt competitive, which is very positive. In the end, there was an opportunity to overtake Isack, but Max was coming right behind fighting for P2, so I gave way because I didn’t want to hinder him. It was the right decision for the team,” Tsunoda commented.
Red Bull’s chief, Laurent Mekies, also commented on the result and congratulated the rival: “Congratulations to McLaren on the Constructors’ title, we know how difficult it is to win championships. On our side, Max had a very strong race and had enough pace to stay close to George and hold off the McLarens. We tried everything to win, starting with the soft tire to take advantage of the challenging start conditions, it was an aggressive decision and a risk we chose to take,” he said.
“Yuki had a complicated day, lost many positions in the first lap, but from then on, he did a good job and almost reached the points zone. He’s working very hard, and we’ll continue to evolve together as a team,” he added.
