Follow usRed Bull performed well below expectations at the Singapore Grand Prix last week. At Marina Bay, both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez crashed out in the second phase of qualifying, finishing fifth and eighth respectively in the race.
The main reason for this retreat of the world champions a week ago was the characteristics of the city course and the many bumps on it. They forced the team’s engineers to raise the suspension of the RB19, which cost the car a lot of pressure. At the same time, Red Bull’s rivals didn’t lose that much downforce, as they drive taller cars anyway, due to the bounce. At Suzuka this week, there shouldn’t be any such compromises in set-up, which should put Red Bull back at the front of the line up. According to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, the Red Bull will be out of reach in Japan and may even win the race with a lead of 30 seconds, as happened in some races earlier this year.
Lewis Hamilton thinks Red Bull will be back to its usual 2023 dominance at Suzuka this weekend 👀
Do you agree with the Mercedes driver? 🤔#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/V2fyNiSkFr
— Autosport (@autosport) September 21, 2023
“I expect them to be 30 seconds ahead of us, as they have been before. They had a tough weekend last week, but their car should be phenomenal here. If they’re not, then something’s up. All year long they have shown great pace on all kinds of tracks and their car will be amazing to watch here. Usually when we come here it’s very beautiful to watch their laps because the drivers and the team do a great job with the package they have. I hope we are closer to them and not 30 seconds behind,” said Hamilton.
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