September 16, (THEWILL) – World championship leader, Max Verstappen, was left disappointed after struggling to find pace during qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Red Bull driver failed to reach the final shootout stage and will start from 11th on the grid, pending potential penalties. In stark contrast to his recent dominance, Verstappen was knocked out in Q2 after finishing over 1.5 seconds behind the pace-setting Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
“I knew it would be tough to get pole, but this I didn’t expect,” said Verstappen. “The car was massively bottoming out and I was constantly sliding with no traction. It was really difficult to drive.” It was a bad day at the office for Red Bull as his teammate Sergio Perez fared even worse, spinning off track during his final lap and qualifying 13th. It marked the first time since 2018 that neither Red Bull reached Q3 and presents a major challenge to Verstappen’s pursuit of a third world title.
Despite holding a commanding championship lead, the Dutchman has never won in Singapore. He now faces the daunting task of fighting through the field on a track notoriously difficult for overtaking. Stewards will also investigate his actions in the pit lane amid accusations he impeded other drivers. “We’ve been struggling all weekend,” Verstappen said. “We tried some things for qualifying that made the car undriveable.”
After winning the last 10 races, Red Bull’s weekend in Singapore has so far been one to forget. But Verstappen will be hoping to capitalise on his car’s superior race pace and overcome the team’s qualifying woes when lights go out on Sunday night.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
