Max Verstappen expressed his frustration after a qualifying incident with Lando Norris at the Singapore Grand Prix. Verstappen narrowly missed pole position, trailing George Russell's Mercedes. He believed
Norris should have cleared the path as he was returning to the pits, which could have helped Verstappen secure pole. The turbulent air from Norris's McLaren led to an error at the final chicane, leaving Verstappen 0.182 seconds behind Russell.
After completing his lap, Verstappen's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, commented on the situation over the radio: "You can thank your mate for that. Hard luck. " Verstappen added, "That's noted, it will be remembered as well. " Despite this setback, he remains optimistic about his chances in the upcoming race and aims to close the gap in the championship standings.
The Dutch driver is currently second on Sunday's starting grid and sees this as a positive outcome. He finished ahead of both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, maintaining his pursuit of the championship title. Having won the last two races, Verstappen has reduced his deficit to leader Piastri to 69 points and trails Norris by 44 points.
When asked about discussing the incident with Norris, Verstappen stated there was no need for a conversation. "No. I think it's quite clear it's something that's not nice," he said. He emphasized that drivers usually try to avoid such situations but acknowledged that scenarios vary. In this case, with only ten cars on track during Q3, he felt it was avoidable.
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Norris dismissed Verstappen's complaints about their qualifying incident. "They always complain," he remarked. "They complain about everything. That's Red Bull. " Norris explained he was unaware of being in Verstappen's way as he was three seconds ahead at that point.
As the race approaches, Verstappen remains focused on his performance and strategy to gain points in the championship standings. His determination is evident as he continues to challenge for top positions despite setbacks like these.
