Horner blames Verstappen for nothing: ''It was frustrating for him''

It was not an ideal race weekend in Singapore for Verstappen. It already went wrong during qualifying on Saturday when Red Bull put too little fuel in the car for Verstappen's final lap, forcing the Dutchman to start from P8. Then Max had a terrible start and had to overtake even more drivers on the narrow Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Frustrating weekend for Verstappen

''It was tough for him. He started out of position and had a horrible start which put him further back. He managed to avoid the chaos. He picked his way through the field, unlucky with Norris who got lucky with the safety car. He made the move on Lando at the restart and the car bottomed badly and he locked the wheel,'' Horner told Viaplay.

Verstappen's ambitious action caused the reigning world champion to fall back in the rankings, but Horner defended his pupil. According to the Briton, the blocking wheel was due to the low temperature of the slicks. ''Because the safety car had been so slow. Frustrating for him but those last 5 laps, 11 world championships between them (the fight with Hamilton and Vettel), they were fighting incredibly hard. He dropped down to 14 and came up to P7, important points for him and the team.'' Asked if he was not shocked when Verstappen shot straight ahead, Horner can laugh afterwards: ''I thought 'not now!'''

Verstappen gets a new chance in Japan in a week's time. There, Verstappen has it in his own hands to secure the world title. Horner hopes his team can do well in Japan. For the frenzied Japanese fans, it would be nice if Verstappen becomes champion with a Honda engine, even though that engine is now called the Red Bull Powertrain.