A scintillating performance in Qualifying for the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix put to bed any suggestions Formula 1’s new technical directive was the cause of Red Bull’s woes in Singapore, with Max Verstappen telling detractors to ‘suck on an egg’.
Red Bull had swept the board during the 2023 F1 season prior to the Singapore GP, winning every race before Carlos Sainz and Ferrari broke that run in Marina Bay. Both Verstappen and Perez were visibly struggling with the car and many pointed to the outlawing of ‘flexi-wings’ as the reason.
“We had a bad weekend, of course the people start talking about that it’s all because of the technical directives,” Verstappen told the press. “I think they can go suck on an egg.
“From my side, I was just very fired up to have a good weekend here and make sure that we were strong.”
Red Bull from Singapore to Japan
The difference in Verstappen’s demeanour over one week is clear, with the Dutchman full of praise for the Red Bull and its handling of the Suzuka circuit.
“To be honest, the whole weekend has been really good as we put the car on the track,” Verstappen added.
“It’s been very enjoyable to drive, very predictable, which I think is the most important. And lap after lap in qualifying as well it was getting better. I only had three new sets of tyres. So I had to be careful with using them basically. So in Q2 I had to run the scrubs.
“But then once I put on a new set again, in the first run in Q3, it was just super nice. I mean, these high speed corners of the car is very well balanced and you can really push it to the limit. It’s just really enjoyable to drive.”
