Carlos Sainz Writes off Max Verstappen Win, but Not Really

Carlos Sainz is having the time of his life in a Ferrari car with back-to-back pole positions in qualifying. With Max Verstappen finishing in a shocking P11, Sainz has a huge opportunity to end the Dutchman’s and Red Bull’s streak and win his team’s first race of the season. However, the 29-year-old is writing the runaway championship leader off, with The Athletic quoting him to be wary of his rival showing up on Sunday with a great race pace.

It was a shocking Saturday in Singapore as the drivers made their way out on the track for the qualifying session. Following Lance Stroll’s crash, there was a huge delay in the proceedings, but once Q2 began, it had a major shock in store. Neither of the Red Bull cars managed to make it past Q2 as they struggled to find any grip on the run while also struggling with botched upshifts. As a result, Verstappen and Perez qualified P11 and P13, respectively. Meanwhile, Ferrari had a great pace once again, which aided Sainz in securing his second consecutive pole of the season.

Carlos Sainz believes Red Bull might turn up with a challenging car on Sunday

As has been the story throughout the season, Red Bull and Verstappen turn up all the dials on race days and register an incredible race. Heading into Sunday’s feature race in Singapore, pole sitter Sainz is wary of the Austrian team replicating the feat.

“I don’t think you can ever discount Max and Red Bull. They might turn up tomorrow with the race pace they’ve had all season and still manage somehow to make it through the field. But for sure, around here, they have a much more difficult task.”

However, given the tricky nature of the circuit, it won’t be as easy for Red Bull as it was for them in last year’s Belgian Grand Prix. While they will be able to make notable headway, the Red Bull cars will have a tough time getting to the podium places.

Sainz, who has the best shot at winning the Singapore GP, believes the more realistic outcome would be to have a winner from the top five starters on the grid.

Sainz shouldn’t be too worried of a serious Red Bull challenge in Singapore

Red Bull had a woeful qualifying on Sunday. The dominant RB19 looked far from its best version as the track caused consistent problems to it. Both drivers experienced understeer, oversteer, and a severe lack of grip too. At one point in Q2, Perez‘s car even spun around and had him facing the wrong direction. Should the RB19s continue to under-deliver on Sunday, Sainz and Ferrari have one less thing to worry about.

 

Not the Qualifying outcome we wanted, but the race weekend is far from over…

Provisionally the Bulls are in P11 and P13 for the #SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 pic.twitter.com/guM1v0uFRz

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) September 16, 2023

Another factor contributing to Red Bull potentially not making it to the top will be the circuit’s width. The Marina Bay Street Circuit is one of the narrower circuits on the calendar. As such, there is little room for overtaking, which means there is even less margin for error. Even if the RB19 performs at an optimum level, the best finish they would be aiming for could be a P5.