Red Bull arrived in Singapore following their worst run of form in years.
On average, they were 0.46% off the pace over the previous three races. This from the team which began the season with seven consecutive pole positions.
More worryingly for them, Singapore had been their sole weak track for their all-conquering RB19 last year. But if they could show a better turn of pace at Marina Bay, it would surely bode well for the rest of the season.
A week ago in Baku, Red Bull claimed they’d made some improvements to their car’s handling on Friday, before set-up changes on Max Verstappen moved it out of its comfort zone, consigning him to a fifth-place finish.
In Singapore, the team look very much their old selves. Verstappen didn’t look comfortable at any time during practice, but in qualifying the car came to life. On top of which, in a challenging Q3 where most drivers only got a single flying lap in, he got closer to his potential than several of his rivals, and his reward was a better qualifying position than his car arguably deserved.
Sector times
| P. | # | Driver | S1 | S2 | S3 | Ultimate lap (deficit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | 26.493 (1) | 37.63 (1) | 25.296 (4) | 1’29.419 (+0.106) |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | 26.603 (5) | 37.652 (2) | 25.284 (3) | 1’29.539 (+0.101) |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | 26.556 (3) | 37.797 (5) | 25.228 (2) | 1’29.581 (+0.260) |
| 4 | 1 | Max Verstappen | 26.56 (4) | 37.663 (3) | 25.361 (6) | 1’29.584 (+0.096) |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | 26.533 (2) | 37.759 (4) | 25.419 (7) | 1’29.711 (+0.036) |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | 26.667 (7) | 37.913 (8) | 25.227 (1) | 1’29.807 (+0.060) |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | 26.728 (8) | 37.939 (9) | 25.3 (5) | 1’29.967 (+0.148) |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | 26.75 (9) | 37.866 (6) | 25.492 (11) | 1’30.108 |
| 9 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | 26.769 (10) | 37.897 (7) | 25.536 (13) | 1’30.202 (+0.087) |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | 26.647 (6) | 38.13 (12) | 25.437 (8) | 1’30.214 |
| 11 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | 26.841 (13) | 37.939 (9) | 25.656 (16) | 1’30.436 (+0.045) |
| 12 | 11 | Sergio Perez | 26.822 (11) | 38.143 (13) | 25.489 (10) | 1’30.454 (+0.125) |
| 13 | 23 | Alexander Albon | 26.839 (12) | 38.06 (11) | 25.575 (14) | 1’30.474 |
| 14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | 26.864 (14) | 38.268 (14) | 25.496 (12) | 1’30.628 (+0.025) |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | 26.993 (16) | 38.296 (15) | 25.48 (9) | 1’30.769 |
| 16 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | 27.079 (17) | 38.308 (16) | 25.698 (18) | 1’31.085 |
| 17 | 18 | Lance Stroll | 26.873 (15) | 38.53 (18) | 25.691 (17) | 1’31.094 |
| 18 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | 27.088 (18) | 38.568 (19) | 25.648 (15) | 1’31.304 (+0.008) |
| 19 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | 27.189 (19) | 38.4 (17) | 25.963… |
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