Max Verstappen can become world champion in Singapore, but to do so he will have to win the race and be lucky if other drivers perform moderately. Based on the first day at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Verstappen will have to put winning his second world title this weekend out of his mind. The Red Bull Racing driver drove only five laps in the second free practice session and had to make do with a fourth time.
The Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were around three-tenths faster in Friday's second practice session. George Russell was also faster, so Red Bull will need to find some time towards qualifying. Verstappen himself also knows that he needs to and can do a lot better.
Reaction Verstappen after FP2 Singapore
Speaking to De Telegraaf, Verstappen says: "In the first practice, the car felt good. For the second session we wanted to try some things, but those changes took quite some time each time. So that second practice was not very representative. We will analyse everything well."
So there were not really any mechanical problems to fix during FP2. It was more about drastic changes to the set-up. In the end, Verstappen did not complete more than five laps on Singapore's street circuit. Sergio Perez did complete more laps, but the Mexican was completely out of the running. He finished ninth in the second free practice session.