F1 News: Christian Horner Blames "Setup Problem" For Singapore Grand Prix Outcome

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed that the team understands the root cause of the problem that brought a shift in the championship dynamics in Singapore. The lack of performance was attributed to a setup problem which caused the team to break the 'winning trend.'

Having won all of the first 15 grand prix of the season, the team entered the Singapore GP with plenty of confidence but the weekend saw drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez struggle for grip and pace as they couldn't go past Q2.

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During the Grand Prix, Verstappen finished fifth while Perez finished eighth. On the bright side, Horner claims the team has zeroed in on the cause of the problem. He told the media:

“I think, firstly, we understood a lot more in the race and the pace of the car came much more back to what we expected.

"We knew, coming here, we expected to have closer competition, but it took us a bit by surprise just how far out we were on Friday. We were just not in the right operating window for the car, particularly over a single lap.

"When you are not there, the tyres feel horrible, everything just doesn’t work. So, I think we got a very good steer in the race, we saw, particularly in the latter stint, that Max’s pace was very strong.

"Unfortunately, in the race, by starting on the hard, we took a strategic gamble and the best way of that race paying us off was if we had an early Safety Car or if you get a Safety car later on into the race.

"But the lap that the Safety Car came out on was strategically the worst possible lap for the strategy that we were on because it gave the lead cars, the cars ahead of us, a free stop. At the same time giving us track position, but making us take the restart with tyres that were very hard to heat up again having done well over 20 laps. So, then Max was picked off by the guys that had the free stop.

"And then we had to take a pit stop that was in normal racing conditions, which then dropped you another 23 seconds behind.

"With that all considered, the recovery that we had, and the pace that we had, particularly in the latter stages of the race to be 0.2s behind Charles [Leclerc] at the finish line, was a strong race."

Despite a break in the team's number of consecutive wins, Horner proudly revealed that the team had set an amazing example throughout the year. In addition, he also congratulated Ferrari for their epic win, Carlos Sainz in particular. He added:

“At some point we were going to get beaten. Fifteen in a row is an unbelievable record and we have only been beaten once prior to tonight since last July.

"And I have to congratulate Ferrari, particularly Carlos [Sainz], who drove a very strong race and deserved to win. At the same time, we have narrowed in on both championships, which we have a chance of winning the constructors’ championship in Japan next weekend.”

Blaming the simulation for not leading the team to the right conclusion about the Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Horner said last weekend had been a successful learning opportunity for the team as it got some "useful insight" into areas that can be addressed on the 2024 car. He revealed:

“I don’t think we have struggled that much; we won the race last year. I think that maybe our simulation before the weekend didn’t lead us to the right conclusion and then you have to unravel your way out of that.

"I think we just ended up in the wrong window that exposed some of the weaknesses that the car has, which has actually been a very useful lesson for next year because it gives some very useful insight into some things, we can address in RB20.”