Why a 2021 F1 tactic means Verstappen is unconcerned by Red Bull’s poor practice

Carlos Sainz and Ferrari led the way in the only practice session that really matters for Formula 1’s returning Singapore Grand Prix, while Red Bull was off the pace and lacking laps.

But, as we’ll explain, the Marina Bay track’s nature negates these issues for Max Verstappen’s squad and the Dutchman himself is unconcerned.

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In FP1, it was Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton that topped the times – the Briton’s 1m43.033s the first-place benchmark in the dusk-to-night session that takes place in hotter conditions than FP2, qualifying and the race.

Verstappen produced his usual 2022 trick of delivering a fastest lap with his very first run of a weekend, but he was eventually shuffled back to second overall in the opening session.

This was thanks to Hamilton’s late effort on the softs just after the red-flag period caused by Lance Stroll tagging the Turn 5 wall that leads onto the first sector’s long straight and picking up a puncture aboard his Aston Martin. Charles Leclerc led Ferrari to third in the opening session but missed nearly half of it while his team fixed a brake problem.

In FP2, Leclerc’s lost track time continued to mount as he stayed in the pits until past the halfway mark of the second one-hour session as Ferrari worked on his floor, making a lengthy set-up change. But Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez were also non-runners during the early stages – the former having to wait for Red Bull to make major set-up adjustments, while the latter had an engine issue that had to be rectified.

Sainz therefore was the only frontrunner to have a ‘normal’ FP2 – leading the way on the mediums and then the softs before completing a long-run effort to close out the session. The Mercedes drivers did likewise, but lost time to the Ferrari at the big stops of Turns 13 and 14 at either end of the main back straight in the second sector.

Red Bull had Perez completed three qualifying simulation efforts, none of which got close to Sainz’s best time. Verstappen had one go right at the end, which put him third. But the pair’s differing run plans, with Verstappen losing more time with a second big set-up adjustment through the middle part of FP2, meant Red Bull’s strongest driver over a race stint length did not complete a race-data-gathering exercise.

Overall FP2 order