Max Verstappen says that after releasing the clutch at the start of the F1 Singapore Grand Prix, the anti-stall activation caused a poor start.
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen dropped from eighth on the grid to 12th by Turn 1 after his car nearly went into anti-stall mode.
Max Verstappen then fought back, but on lap 40 he spun while trying to pass Lando Norris (McLaren) and was forced to pit again, rejoining the track in 13th.
In the end, Verstappen finished seventh, one place above the starting grid, but said it was “not where we wanted to be”. He also said his blazing Sunday was partly due to a qualifying struggle that forced him to abandon a lap that could have taken pole position due to a lack of fuel.
Verstappen: “I lost places in clutch and anti-stall. We need to analyze why that happened, but we lost a lot of spots,” said Verstappen.
“From there I tried to pass some people. Some people did well, but I got a little stuck in the train. Everyone is running up the temperature of the tyres, so it’s really difficult to catch up.”
“Of course we were a little lucky and some people made some mistakes.”
“We were fifth and trying to pass Lando who was fourth. I hit the brakes as soon as I got in line with him. I wasn’t late, but I hit the bottom. Bottoming and off line I’m already struggling a lot. and it could have been even bumpier.”
“So as soon as I stepped on the brakes, the front wheels were in the air and I went straight ahead.”
“I had to do some boxing again because the vibration was too much, put new tires on and went back to the points from the back.”
“It’s not where we want it to be, but of course it started yesterday. Either you get annoyed with
Asked if it was a consolation to overtake Sebastian Vettel on the last lap for seventh place, Verstappen said: “It’s better than eighth, but that’s not what I’m here for and we’re in practice. It wasn’t even the car they were showing, it was incredibly messy,” he added.
Category: F1 / Max Verstappen / red bull / F1 Singapore Grand Prix