Anthony Davidson has said races at the start of the 2023 season have hinted that Red Bull would possibly be suffering in Singapore, as has been confirmed.
The first race of 2023 that Red Bull failed to win was last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, with the RB19 hunting as a midfield device rather than the conquering monster it had been for the first two-thirds of the season.
Although Christian Horner denied that the new TD018 had any effect on the car’s competitiveness, the team boss warned that Red Bull had simply not placed its car in the proper operating window that would allow it to exploit its usual pace.
While Marina Bay in Singapore pointed via Red Bull as a potential obstacle in their quest for victory in each and every race in 2023, the weekend proved to be their downfall, as Max Verstappen raced to fifth position from his eleventh position on the grid. , while Sergio Perez controlled eighth place from 13th.
The low- to medium-speed nature of the circuit, combined with the heat and humidity, competitive pavements and claustrophobic fairways, were ingredients that combined to change Red Bull’s career, and Sky F1 expert Anthony Davidson said there had been hints before. the season in which the RB19 was out of its convenience zone in such scenarios.
“It was no exception,” he said of Singapore.
“If you take a look at circuits like Monaco, where, at that point in the championship, their car probably dominated even more and they were so close to being overtaken by Fernando Alonso.
“It almost happened to them there in Monaco. In Montreal, by their standards, some other circuit where there are long straights and tight corners, it’s not fantastic. “
“So you know, there were those cautionary symptoms from Red Bull that we may have detected before, knowing that Singapore could have been an Achilles heel for them.
“Sure enough, it was. His car is so smart when it comes to conserving the tyres, that’s his real strength and he’s so smart when it comes to cornering at top speed. That’s what we have here!
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Looking ahead to the Japanese GP weekend, a circuit where Verstappen had no concerns about Red Bull’s competitiveness, the Dutch driver reflected on his year with the RB19.
“Forgetting about Singapore, it’s been really good, really nice, quite predictable and complete. It’s a very vital thing to have him in Formula 1,” he said.
Prior to Singapore, Verstappen had won 10 consecutive races to set a new record for consecutive F1 victories. The last race in which he overcame the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, a race weekend that he considers essential to understand the car and unleash its unprecedented dominance. But what clicked for him that weekend?
“These are small details,” he said.
“I mean, it’s nothing absolutely different, but it’s just about fine-tuning a lot of things together, which then gives you more balance and more confidence to attack corners.
“That’s why you know, there are races where you’re a little more informed than others and, in fact, I think Baku was, for me, a smart race where I was informed a lot. “
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