Toto Wolff’s hopes that the FIA’s new technical directive would increase Red Bull’s lap time have been dashed, and Max Verstappen’s predictions appear to be coming true.
The Singapore Grand Prix marked the first race weekend after the FIA’s latest technical directive came into force, with the sport’s governing framework cracking down on the flexibility of wings on the grid.
This technical directive also coincided with the weakest race of the season for Red Bull. The Milton Keynes-based team had won all 14 races before Singapore and also with some comfort, but the reigning constructors’ champions were forced to settle for fifth and eighth. Sunday.
Mercedes team principal Wolff had in the past expressed his hopes for the technical board: “I don’t know who is exploiting this to a greater extent, not to a greater extent than the others. But if a Red Bull starts for a slower moment or something, that would be good, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case.
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Unfortunately for Wolff, although Red Bull was much slower than in Singapore, according to the Red Bull hierarchy, it had nothing to do with the technical directive as no part of the RB19 was affected by the FIA’s most recent instructions.
Helmut Marko showed he was fearless when he spoke to Auto, Motor und Sport about the rule change and said: “It was planned for a long time. It worked well in the simulator and promised more downforce.
Team principal Christian Horner doubled down on Marko’s claims, adding: “I know everyone would like to blame the TD, but unfortunately we can’t even blame him because he didn’t replace any parts of our car.
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“So I think the characteristics of the circuit here are different. And I think we just haven’t optimised a car in the right window to extract the maximum numbers. “
These claims are in line with Verstappen’s expectations ahead of the weekend. Asked if adjustments to the front wing would improve his pace, he replied: “I don’t think so. We’ve never had a flex front wing or anything like that, so don’t think it’s going to hurt us. “
While Red Bull and Verstappen were out of the verbal exchange in Singapore, the championship leaders are expected to bounce back at Suzuka, which is a more classic circuit and the position where Verstappen got his middle name last season.