Sergio Perez has said he expects Red Bull to struggle to challenge at the front in the Singapore GP after a massive drop in qualifying performance saw both cars out in Q2.
Perez qualified in 13th while Max Verstappen was 11th as both drivers struggled for grip during the session as they had throughout practice, with the Mexican spinning out on his final flying lap in Q2 at Turn 3.
While the cars had looked stronger during the long-run race simulations, Perez told media after the session he believes the team face an uphill battle during the grand prix given the nature of the Marina Bay street circuit.
“I think the race pace was very strong on Friday. But given where we’re starting, it’s going to be difficult.
“But hopefully just a one off and we can move on from here.
Balance issues
Perez had struggled throughout the practice sessions with grip and consistency alongside Verstappen, with both drivers saying they lacked the confidence under braking and to attack the tight corners around the Singapore streets.
“It’s just the balance. Every corner is quite different and we are playing around with the tools quite a lot and we just don’t manage to achieve the results we want,” Perez said.
The FIA issued a new technical directive earlier in the week aimed at stopping teams from allowing car parts to flex beyond the permitted tolerance, a strategy reportedly used by Red Bull on the RB19.
However, team boss Christian Horner said that wasn’t the reason for the drop off in performance.
“Nothing’s changed on the car,” Horner said to Sky Sports F1. “So we tried a new aerodynamic part on Friday, we thought ‘Okay, well revert on that component.’
“So it’s a tried and tested set up that we have but it just hasn’t responded on this circuit, on this asphalt. Now you’re trying to get the tyres into the window and it’s been very hard for both drivers.”
