Red Bull surprised to have the same pace as Franco Colapinto in Singapore

The sensations are not the best within the Red Bull team after what was the first free practice session with a view to the Singapore Grand Prix in which both Max Verstappen and Sergio “Checo” Pérez were much slower than expected.

The frustration within the energy drink team was such that there was a comparison with the Argentine driver of Williams Racing, Franco Colapintowho only has two races of experience in Formula 1 after his debut at the last Italian Grand Prix.

“I just looked and we are on the same pace as (Franco) Colapinto”commented Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, in statements collected by the Motorsport portal, in which the Austrian expressed his concern about the performance of his two drivers this Friday at the Marina Bay circuit.

“Nothing is working. “Nothing is working on Max’s (Verstappen) car. With both the soft and hard tyres he has no grip and no balance,” added Marko, who, although he is worried about the situation, still believes that they can save the weekend.

“At this point I would say it is very worrying. We certainly need to try something drastically. Let’s see what we can try.”assured the Red Bull advisor, hoping for a quick response from the team that will allow them to improve the situation.

The Red Bull team, which recently lost the top spot in the constructors’ standings for the 2024 Formula 1 season, cannot continue to lose ground and needs to regain the pace currently set by McLaren, the new leader of the World Championship, and Ferrari as soon as possible.

Focused on being more competitive

Red Bull’s advisor, Helmut Marko, was emphatic that the energy drink team is obliged to make the necessary improvements that will allow it to be back in the fight and regain the dominance they showed throughout last season and at the beginning of this one.

The Austrian was quite emphatic and clear when he was reminded that Pierre Waché, the team’s technical director, had pointed out that the main problems of the new RB20, which has caused so many headaches for his drivers, can be completely corrected once the season is over.

“No, we cannot accept that. We have to fix things to make sure we are more competitive.”Marko said, making clear the team’s position to continue fighting to try to revalidate the constructors’ title won in 2023.

McLaren (476) currently leads the standings with a 20-point advantage over the Red Bull team (456).

Continue reading:
– Sergio “Checo” Pérez after free practice ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix: “We have to work hard”
– Fernando Alonso and his curious reaction after saving his vehicle from a crash during the first free practice sessions in Singapore
– Franco Colapinto was the protagonist of the comical moment of free practice in Singapore when he got confused during an entry to the pits