Max Verstappen avoided a penalty for impeding before the Singapore Grand Prix. This led to frustrations from a number of teams including Aston Martin. After the Singapore Grand Prix, Aston Martin team principal, Mike Krack expressed his frustration towards the FIA.
“The stewards have all of the information. From our side when you’ve been impeded, it’s frustrating. What we really want is consistency.”
Max Verstappen has been winning most of the races this season. Until the Singapore Grand Prix, there was not a single race won by a non-Red Bull driver. However, the team struggled to find performance on the Marina Bay Street Circuit. This allowed Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren to take advantage. Carlos Sainz won the Grand Prix with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton close behind him. The Red Bulls only managed a 5th and 8th place finish with Max ahead.
“I don’t understand why he didn’t get three places for the Tsunoda one” 💬
Bernie Collins and Karun Chandhok discuss why Max Verstappen didn’t receive a penalty after being investigated for impeding three times in qualifying 🔍 pic.twitter.com/OxrQWdzc8V
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) September 17, 2023
This was after Max escaped penalties for impeding that he caused during qualifying the day before. The Dutch driver was investigated for impeding Yuki Tsunoda and Logan Sargeant. He also stood at the end of the pit lane while blocking the cars behind. However, his race engineer helped him out with the last incident.
After investigation, the FIA declared that no further action would be taken against Max Verstappen for impeding. The Red Bulls anyway had a poor qualifying where they started P11 and P13. Overall, it was a weekend to forget for the Austrian outfit. But they are hopeful that their performance will be back for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Not just Max Verstappen! Here’s how Sergio Perez evaded a penalty in Singapore
While Max Verstappen avoided a penalty during qualifying, Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull also avoided a penalty during the race on Sunday. Yuki Tsunoda was once again the victim of this incident.
During the opening lap of the Grand Prix, Sergio Perez, in an attempt to gain positions, tried a move on the inside of Tsunoda but ended up being too optimistic to make the move. He hit Tsunoda on the right-hand side. The Japanese driver was forced to retire in the same lap.
Perez hitting Tsunoda at Lap 1 of #SingaporeGP. Tsunoda then DNF.
I don’t think we saw Perez’s onboard at TV. #F1 #Formula1 pic.twitter.com/C8N8l02ozT
— F1newsletter.com (@F1_Newsletter) September 17, 2023
Later in the race, he tried a similar move on the inside of Alex Albon. Unfortunately, the move was similar to the one on the first lap. However, this time, Perez did get a penalty. Albon on the other hand had to stop the car to avoid running into the wall. He was able to continue but failed to score points. If the overtake was successful, Albon could have finished in the points.
Red Bull claims that the new technical directives that were introduced before the Singapore Grand Prix were not the reason for the dip in performance. But the Singapore layout just didn’t suit the natural driving style of the car. Max Verstappen was complaining about the upshifts throughout the weekend. Red Bull will be hoping that the issues will be solved in time for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Do you think Red Bull will lose any other race this season? Post your answers in the comment section below.
