Verstappen: Happy to take second, at least we have a shot at it

It's well known that the Red Bull RB20's sweet spot has long been lost, as Verstappen has not won since the Spanish Grand Prix back in June, and they have really struggled amid major changes at the highest level, namely Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley, who will not be with the team next year.

Furthermore, Marina Bay Street Circuit was always going to be a bogey track for them; even last year with a mighty RB19, they did not win that race in a season in which they won 22 of the 23 GPs. But this is a totally different season.

A resurgent McLaren team took the lead of the 2024 F1 constructors' championship from Red Bull after last Sunday's Azerbaijan GP and are the stronger team in this final phase of the season. One that Verstappen looked to dominate with his run of ten wins out of the first seven races,

But that stampede was cut short, and Red Bull have been struggling to find their form until Saturday in Singapore. Verstappen pulled out a mighty lap to pop up to P2 on the timing screens and set himself up for a win, or at least limit the damage to Norris in terms of points in the 2024 F1 title race.

This is what Verstappen had to say after Qualy in Singapore: "The whole of qualifying went quite well. We managed to improve the car run after run. I'm happy to be on the front row if you look at where we came from yesterday.

"Q3 was tough. Your lap gets, of course, cancelled with the double-waved yellow, and then everyone only has one run to do the lap, so you don't want to overdo it. You want to stay within the limit. I'll take a second I'm happy with that."

Looking ahead to Sunday's race, Verstappen said: "It's a bit difficult to say; in Singapore, a lot of things can happen, but at least we have a shot at it like this."

Victory at the 16th edition of the GP in Singapore would be Verstappen's eighth of this season, his 62nd F1 win, and his first victory at Marina Bay. Verstappen leads Norris by 69 points in the 2024 F1 drivers' standings with seven rounds remaining. Red Bull trails McLaren by 20 points in the constructors' race.

The reason for that is Sergio Perez has lost his form, despite a resurgence in Baku. But last Sunday ended badly for the Mexican veteran when he collided with the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz battling for the podium on the last lap of the GP. No points on the day was his plight.

In qualifying today, he was again missing in action compared to his teammate. Perez was out in Q2 with his P13 effort, which was nearly a full second (0.899s) down on his teammate in the #1 Red Bull.

Perez reported: “It’s a nightmare, really. We had good progression through Q1, but then in Q2, there was something going funny with the tyres that I just couldn’t get them in the window, the rear axle.

“I was struggling quite a lot with it, and it was just so peaky, that just a little tickle on the car, on the balance, will make a huge difference and unfortunately, we’re knocked out. It hasn’t been a straightforward weekend. I think we lost some potential from Friday, so plenty of stuff to analyse.

"It’s very difficult to overtake out there, so it’s going to be a tricky race. Once again, I think trying to score some points, and minimise the damage, will be the target," added Perez, winner of the 2022 Singapore GP.