What happened with Max Verstappen in qualifying?

Funny situation experienced Max Verstappen in the streets of Singapore this Saturday. In the running for a 17^e pole position and very close to achieving it since he was provisionally several tenths ahead of Charles Leclerc, the Batavian was forced to abort his final flying lap. So as the last sequence approaches, the pilot Red Bull was recalled to the pit lane which provoked his anger on the radio. On screen, he did not seem to suffer from any problem on his RB18 but the reigning world champion gave the reason for this scene which he would have liked not to experience.

« Yes, he said at the microphone of Canal + when asked if this recall to the pits was due to insufficient fuel in the car. But initially this kind of thing shouldn't happen because you know how many laps you have to do. There was poor judgment which is why I had to abort my last attempt just like the previous one where I still had enough fuel which would have been enough for pole position I think. It's extremely painful."

Max Verstappen's black anger on the radio after this end of the qualifying session 😡📻#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 pic.twitter.com/BolJO0Hixt

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) October 1, 2022

Little optimism at Verstappen

Max Verstappen asked not to go to the end of his efforts, Red Bull above all wanted to avoid a disqualification preferring to keep 8^e position on the grid rather than setting the best time and starting last this Sunday. Deprived of pole position, returned to its Monegasque rival, the Dutchman did not, however, show himself angry towards his team who for once made a mistake but knew how to minimize the losses. “ It's simply something that can be avoided. Above all, it’s frustrating.."

If during previous Grands Prix he was able to come back a long way and win as in Belgium or in Italy more recently, Max Verstappen was more pessimistic this time. The characteristics of the Singapore route do not in fact work in his favor and the person concerned is aware that he could experience a Sunday far from usual.

« Probably not, he replies when asked about the possibility of fighting for a podium this Sunday. It's very difficult to overtake on this circuit. It's a bit like Monaco where you have to try to do something in terms of strategy. I think it will be a pretty frustrating race for me where I might get stuck behind some cars. » When we know that strategy is the strong point of Red Bull, and not of certain other teams, we say to ourselves that Max Verstappen could still glean a few positions and why not a podium.

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