'Simulator error' cost Red Bull at Singapore?
Red Bull chief Dr Helmut Marko has blamed the team’s simulator preparations for slow Singapore pace.
Expectations were high at Red Bull going into the Singapore Grand Prix. On a street circuit built for their aerodynamic car it was thought Max Verstappen could claim a third race win of the season, but race fans were shocked when it was the Ferrari that suddenly had all the pace.
Sebastian Vettel crossed the line to get his first race win in over a year, with teammate Charles Leclerc in second as the team in red continue their unlikely form. Verstappen claimed the last spot on the podium, but was critical of the team’s performance at the weekend.
“From Austria onwards, it's maybe our worst race in terms of performance, where we expected to be really good", said Verstappen after the race. "I have a few ideas why it went wrong so we will analyse all of them. I think here, clearly, in too many corners the car was not working like I wanted it to."
It was however Red Bull’s best weekend since the restart after the summer break. Alexander Albon continued to impress in his new seat, rolling home in 6th to claim a third-straight points finish in his first three races as a Red Bull driver. Verstappen’s podium took Red Bull’s points tally to 289 for the season, with just 45 coming in the three races after the summer break - Leclerc has picked up 23 more points than Red Bull in that time.
‘Simulator Error’ cost Red Bull.
The fault in Red Bull’s weekend was to do with their simulator, claimed Dr Helmut Marko.
“The problem was in the simulator. We were totally misled there," he told Austrian broadcaster ORF. "The simulator is the basis of our setup for the race weekend, so if it is not right from there then you are in trouble… We set up our chassis much too stiffly, which meant we lacked stability. We also had too little downforce.”
In the week leading up to the race every driver will undergo simulator training of the upcoming track. For Red Bull to get that simulator training ‘wrong’ in one way or another is quite shocking for a top three team, and makes you wonder what exactly could’ve gone that wrong.
Red Bull expectations will remain high.
Singapore was where Red Bull were really expecting to reignite their season after the summer break. Grid penalties were taken at both Spa and Monza as to give themselves the best chance in Singapore, but for the mishaps in their pre-race preparations.
Red Bull were asserting themselves as the second-most dominant force in F1 in the first half of the season, but Ferrari have bitten back with three straight race wins at three differing tracks.
Six races now remain, and many of them could favour the Red Bull. Sochi hosts this weekend, and again the expectations will be high for the team heading to Russia, who will be hoping that everything runs smoothly in the sims this week.
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