Why Verstappen and Leclerc didn't want rain during FP3 in Singapore
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen is not having an excellent start to the weekend ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix. After a Friday with little action, the Dutchman has to contend with heavy rain today at the Marina Bay circuit during the third free practice and possibly qualifying. However, it is bad timing for Verstappen, who has not yet been able to put in much mileage in his RB18. The same can be said for Charles Leclerc who missed out on a lot of Friday running as well.
The first free practice session in Singapore was still fairly positive. Verstappen topped the timesheet for most of the session, but in the closing stages Lewis Hamilton managed to beat the Dutchman's time. Still, the RB18 looked fast on the track. For Sergio Perez, FP1 did not go as well, as the Mexican had to park his car in the garage due to a problem.
During the second free practice session, Verstappen and Perez got very little action. Both drivers were in the garage for most of the session. In Verstappen's case, there were problems with the front suspension, which meant a major set-up change was done to his RB18. As a result, the Dutchman completed very few laps in FP2, while the second session is most representative of race conditions.
Leclerc is also down on lap time. In FP1, the man from Monaco recorded three fewer laps than the Dutchman. In FP2, Verstappen recorded eight laps to Leclerc's 14.
Pole position important in Singapore
With little mileage for both Red Bull drivers, it will therefore be even more difficult to set up their cars properly in the rain. The third free practice is the last chance for the teams to perfect the set-up for qualifying and the race. In addition, pole position is very important in Singapore. The race has been won eight times before from first position. Overtaking remains difficult on Marina Bay's tight street circuit with few straights to overtake. Verstappen can already win the title this weekend, but it is starting to look more and more like the battle will continue in Japan next week.