Carlos Sainz and Ferrari came together to end Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s supremacy with the win in Singapore. In doing so, Ferrari not only took their first win of the season but also Sainz had his second-ever GP win. However, as per Racingnews365, former Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso believes the Prancing Horse is unlikely to repeat their feat in the upcoming race in Japan.
The Austrian team was undefeated since the 2022 Sao Paolo Grand Prix but came to Singapore with said disadvantage. Living up to the words of Verstappen and Sergio Perez, the Red Bull duo missed out on Q3, and therefore had their worst-ever qualifying session since 2018.
On the other hand, the Italian team took the pole position through Sainz and eventually won the race. As for the Milton-Keynes-based team, they could only manage P5 and P8. However, the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix will see Red Bull return to their usual best, thinks Alonso, who’s prophecy on Ferrari turned out to be right.
Fernando Alonso roots for Verstappen over former team Ferrari
Alonso, talking about the upcoming race in Japan, stated that Red Bull will be unstoppable yet again. He said on this as per Racingnews365, “Track-to-track its very different. Let’s see in Japan, I expect Red Bull to dominate, to be honest.”
With this, the two-time world champion also mentioned Mercedes’ era of dominance with the Singapore GP. “This is one off in Singapore, it was also not good for Mercedes in the past when they were dominating the championship,” further added Alonso.
Admittedly, Suzuka is a Circuit that will provide the RB-19 with an advantage over its competitors. Since the track is very demanding due to its twists and turns, there will be heavy tire wear. Given that the RB-19 challenger has lesser wear than that of SF-23, the defending champions are expected to have a clear advantage.
What’s next for Red Bull this season?
Apart from the loss in Singapore, Red Bull has been absolutely dominant in 2023. They won 14 races in 15 rounds so far and have a staggering advantage in both the constructors’ championship and the drivers’ championship (led by Verstappen).
If the Milton-Keynes-based team wins three more races this season, they will comfortably take back-to-back constructors’ championships. As for Verstappen, he might wrap up his title as early the Qatar Grand Prix.
As things stand, the Austrian team is out of reach for Ferrari. Their main target will be taking Mercedes’ P2 in the championship. As for Red Bull, they would look to get back to winning ways after Verstappen’s sim racing positivity prior to the Asian leg.
