Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies does not anticipate a repeat of the disastrous weekend in Hungary for Red Bull at the Singapore Grand Prix. Max Verstappen was able to secure just two championship points for the team at the Hungaroring, while McLaren rival Lando Norris took the victory. Although Mekies finds it ‘impossible’ to predict whether Verstappen will be in contention for the win in Singapore, he is certain of one thing: ‘It will definitely not be like Budapest’.
After the two dominant victories of Max Verstappen at the Grands Prix of Italy and Azerbaijan, the disastrous Hungarian GP seems like a distant memory for Red Bull. While the Dutch world champion finished ninth at the Hungaroring, Yuki Tsunoda did not manage to finish higher than seventeenth. Although the Marina Bay Street Circuit is a very different track compared to the race tracks in Monza and Baku – the circuit in Singapore demands maximum downforce from the cars – team boss Laurent Mekies sees no reason for panic, and certainly no reason for a repeat of Hungary.
“We can certainly say that we have extracted more performance from the car since the Grand Prix in Budapest,” Mekies tells the media in Baku. “I don’t expect Singapore to be a repeat of Budapest, I have much more confidence. Will it be enough to compete for the victory? To be honest, it’s impossible to say. But it certainly won’t be like Budapest.” While Max Verstappen barely made the top ten at the Hungaroring, Lando Norris crossed the finish line more than 72 seconds ahead of the Dutchman.
Requirements for Singapore
Mekies, however, knows what Red Bull needs to do in Singapore to avoid a repeat. “When you go to Singapore, you have to adjust your settings a bit,” the Frenchman explains. “You keep the slow corners, but you go for maximum downforce. We had quite a bit of trouble in Budapest, and even before Budapest. Moreover, Singapore is a much warmer track, and we know how sensitive we are to this aspect. But this is not only the case with us, but almost the entire field.”
