Max Verstappen on 'same pace as Franco Colapinto' at Singapore GP as Red Bull boss groans
Max Verstappen struggled for pace in Friday practice at the Singapore Grand Prix and Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko was left concerned by his best FP2 time being a second off pace-setter Lando Norris
by Daniel Moxon · The MirrorHelmut Marko complained that "nothing is working" on Max Verstappen's car as Red Bull brace for another chastening Singapore Grand Prix weekend.
Last year, even when they were the class of the field, the Marina Bay Circuit proved to be a tricky proposition for them. It was the only race they failed to win in 2023 and, now that they are struggling for performance, things could be even worse this time around.
Verstappen was fourth fastest in FP3 early on Saturday afternoon which, on the face of it, was an encouraging showing. But that was the same result as he managed last year before qualifying down in 11th.
The Dutchman did not sound massively confident of a better result this time around after his Friday practice struggles. He was a second off the pace of Lando Norris in FP2 and said he was "targeting Q3", but would "see where we end up".
As far as Marko was concerned, it was a disastrous showing for Red Bull who might struggle worse than expected. Speaking to German-language media after the end of Friday's running, the long-serving team adviser said: "On Max's car, nothing is working. On both the soft and the hard tyre he doesn't get any grip and he doesn't have any balance at all.
"At the moment, I would say it is very worrying. For sure we have to try something drastically now. Let's see what we can try. We can't accept it, we have to sort things out to make sure that we are more competitive. I just watched and we are on the same pace as Colapinto."
Williams racer Franco Colapinto was 16th fastest in that session, one place behind Verstappen. This weekend's race is just his third as an F1 driver, though he has made an impressive start to life on the grid and scored more points in his second outing, in Baku last weekend, than predecessor Logan Sargeant managed in a season and a half.
To add insult to injury for Verstappen, he has been told by the FIA that he will have to to "work of public interest" to make up for swearing in a press conference. He didn't have anything to say when asked for his reaction to being given a community service-style punishment for his use of bad language.
It comes on the same weekend that FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem said he wanted to see less swearing from F1 drivers behind the wheel. But Verstappen's profanity came when he was not in the midst of competition and, for Sky Sports F1 pundit Anthony Davidson, that was "unacceptable".
He said: "There's one thing losing your cool in the cockpit travelling over 200 miles an hour - it's a fight out there, you're in fight mode in your head and you're not aware a lot of the time in that moment that what you say is broadcast to the world... It's one thing losing your cool in the car and then being slack out of the car. And I think what we heard from Max and maybe a few others through the weekend, that's unacceptable."
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