Red Bull’s RB18, whose legitimacy is at stake with staunch allegations of a major F1 budget cap breach, was too fast for Sebastian Vettel.
The Singapore Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen struggle in midfield. He had a poor start, because of a faulty engine setting, as he was relegated from P8 to P10 in just a blink of an eye.
Though he tried to recapture as many points as possible, he couldn’t go above P6. His result was supposed to be even lower, but a last-second overtake on Sebastian Vettel graced him with two more points.
Regarding the incredible overtake, Vettel claims that the RB18 of Verstappen overtook him like an arrow. Thus, it wasn’t even a question of defending against such a pace.
“At the end I was a bit stuck and couldn’t put pressure on the guys in front of me. The drivers behind me were much faster. Max shot past me like an arrow”, says the four-time world champion to Motorsport-Magazin.com.
The overtake by Verstappen over Vettel was crucial for the Dutchman. With the additional two points, Verstappen now only needs a win and the fastest lap in Japan to officially cement his second championship title.
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Sebastian Vettel was overtaken by an illegitimate car?
Since Ferrari and Mercedes have accused Red Bull of breaching the budget cap, there has been a lot of attention over the Milton-Keynes-based team.
Toto Wolff alleges that Red Bull should be penalized for over three years. The reported figure of $10 million gives Red Bull an advantage over three cars.
Therefore, even claiming the 2022 car, which is on the cusp of winning this year’s championship illegitimate. The FIA has released a statement about investigating the matter, and their verdict can come anytime before Japan.
Meanwhile, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has maintained innocence. he claims that they submitted their accounts in March 2022, and had found no issue in them.
This response once again initiated his war of words with Wolff. The Austrian thinks that Horner’s remark is naive. He claims that Red Bull, for weeks, has been investigated by the FIA for their spending. He even suggested his rival to talk more with his CFO.
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