F1 News
Marko reveals why Verstappen did not finish penultimate lap either
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen was a second faster than the entire field in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix, yet he still failed to clock a fast time. Once Verstappen himself decided to abort his lap, the other time the team decided to do so. Helmut Marko talks about it.
Speaking to Austrian television channel ORF, the Red Bull Racing consultant revealed why Verstappen decided to get off the gas in his penultimate run, despite being incredibly fast on the road. "We had two purple sectors there, but then we got very close to Gasly. That's when we decided to give up the lap." Had Verstappen finished that lap, he would have been in pole position.
Confusion at Red Bull
It was a bit of chaos at Red Bull at the time. "With the confusion that we didn't finish the penultimate lap and wanted to throw in an extra lap, we overlooked the fact that we only had fuel for five laps." Had Verstappen continued driving, he might have had too little fuel in the tank. In that case, the World Championship leader would have been disqualified and would have had to start from the pit lane on Sunday.
Verstappen himself bitterly regrets not being able to start from pole position at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. The Red Bull driver was disillusioned in front of the camera in the square afterwards.