SINGAPORE — Max Verstappen has warned Red Bull that another horrendous start will leave Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix over before it has begun, despite converting his first qualifying success at the Marina Bay Street Circuit into sprint victory on Saturday. Both sprint sessions underline that Red Bull have a more than competitive package with the RB22 in Singapore this year, yet the four-time world champion insists the sprint success counts for little.
"I want to win tomorrow," Verstappen said. "I don't see this as a win in terms of actually winning a grand prix." The Dutchman has long made clear he feels no emotion from sprint victories and retains little affection for the format, and even Red Bull's recent struggles at the street circuit did not alter his view. "My emotion is the same," he added. "It doesn't matter to me if I have won on the track before or not."
Verstappen's attention is fixed entirely on Sunday, where qualifying position is vital given how difficult overtaking is in Singapore, but his chief concern remains the launch. In Malaysia both Mercedes cars surged past him at the start, and George Russell did the same in Saturday's sprint. "The start was horrendous again, so that's definitely something that we need to improve on," Verstappen admitted. "If you have something like that tomorrow, that's your race over, if nothing crazy happens." Asked what went wrong, he replied: "As always, it just doesn't go off the line. The car just doesn't go, we don't accelerate off the line."
Red Bull have struggled with starts for some time, and Verstappen acknowledged limitations on the team's side. "We have a few limitations that we have to work on, and that is probably from our side as well," he said. "We have to do a better job because Racing Bulls sometimes does better starts than us, so yeah, we just need to be better." On Saturday the poor launch did not prove costly after Russell crashed out in front of him at the end of the opening lap. "He was already sideways a few times in that first lap, so I think he was just pushing quite hard on the first lap," Verstappen said. "And then in the last corner, he clipped the white line and, of course, it did send him into the wall. It's an easy mistake to make, I guess, and unlucky at the same time."
With the track partially wet and only one racing line available, Verstappen opted for caution and patience to bring the sprint home. "It was calm in a way, but at the same time, you need to be focused. If you relax, it's easy to make a mistake or go wide, so it was more about paying attention," he said. "Stay calm, but pay attention on the road ahead with your tyres degrading and the road becoming dry in some places and greasy in others. You just have to be patient." The sprint points to Red Bull heading in the right direction with the RB22, but Verstappen knows he must nail the second qualifying session of the weekend and solve the start if he is to claim the victory that truly matters, following Verstappen's pole for the Singapore Sprint.