P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Let’s take a deeper look into whether Max Verstappen’s complaints about Lando Norris ruining his final Q3 lap in Singapore are legitimate
Max Verstappen was frustrated with Lando Norris’s driving during the final slowdown lap in Q3, as he believes it potentially cost him a shot at pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix due to the disturbance in airflow created by the McLaren driver.
Verstappen expressed that pole position was within reach before Norris’s presence led to his Red Bull understeering at the chicane, resulting in a time loss and him backing off of the lap.
Despite not improving his time on the final runs, Verstappen finished in second place, 0.175s behind George Russell’s Mercedes, after being only around one-tenth off Russell’s pace at one point.
Both Verstappen and Norris were out of phase with their final runs, with Norris on his flying lap when Verstappen was leaving the pit-exit, although there was no investigation into potential impeding by Norris.
Verstappen emphasized the importance of clean air in qualifying laps, mentioning the need for large gaps between cars to avoid disturbances, especially on street circuits like Singapore where nailing all corners is challenging.
