Max Verstappen in the Red Bull garage - Photo: Race Pictures

'It's Red Bull and Verstappen – no need to further explain'

07:34, 05 Oct

Updated: 07:40, 05 Oct

byKada Sarkozi

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella is not surprised Red Bull Racing managed to fix their issues after Max Verstappen's strong outing in Singapore.

"It's Red Bull. They are extremely capable. Max is a driver that is just… Max Verstappen. I don't think we need to make any further comments."

- Andrea Stella

Max Verstappen was in the battle for pole position against the two McLarens in Singapore. The Dutchman qualified ahead of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, and only behind George Russell.

"I think it's interesting for everyone to see what Red Bull were able to do in a circuit like this for a couple of reasons.

"One is that they were competitive in Monza, and then they were competitive in Baku, and we thought, let's see whether this depends on using low-level of drag, small rear wings, and it can be repeated at high-level drag and big rear wings.

"And the second reason being that here in Singapore, they might have struggled a bit in the past," Stella began.

Andrea Stella on the pit wall - Photo: Race Pictures

"Well, the evidence is that they might have resolved both of these high-drag and Singapore factors."

The Italian explained this is not something unexpected. "This is not a surprise. It's Red Bull. They are extremely capable.

"Max is a driver that is just… Max Verstappen. I don't think we need to make any further comments.

"So, no surprise that they are in the game. It's tight, and it's interesting. Obviously, we would like to make Formula 1 boring, we have done it sometimes at some of the events, but normally Formula 1 is competitive, it's tight, you have to accept the fight and that's what we are doing," he concluded.

Grid order in Singapore

The Dutchman will line up on the front row of the grid alongside pole sitter Russell in Singapore. Piastri will start from P3, while Norris is set to line up right behind his teammate in fifth place.

Entering the Singapore Grand Prix, Verstappen trails championship leader Piastri by 69 points in the drivers' standings. The gap between the Australian and Norris stands at 25 points.

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