"Had to run the car much higher than usual" - F1 pundit on why Red Bull is struggling so much at the 2023 F1 Singapore GP

F1 pundit Mark Hughes mentioned that the reason behind Red Bull's struggles in Singapore is their raising the ride height to combat the circuit characteristics of the Marina Bay track.

The Austrian team could not get into the final qualifying session for the first time since 2018 as both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez qualified in P11 and P13, respectively, in Singapore. Throughout the first two days, the RP19 has not looked like its usual dominant self in Singapore and has been struggling to extract maximum performance in comparison to its rivals.

To combat its deficiencies which have been exposed this weekend, the team had to raise the ride height. As per The Race, F1 pundit Mark Hughes claimed that this aspect has reduced the car's ability to run lower and gain more downforce.

"Red Bull has had to run the car much higher than usual to keep the car legal here – and unlike many of its rivals, its aerodynamics have not been optimized around such a ride height," he said.

"Into Saturday, the car was run with stiffer suspension in an effort to tame the wildly fluctuating underbody aero balance and the potential plank wear problem. This just moved the problem around. It became more predictable but its deficit of rear grip was if anything even worse," Hughes added.

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Red Bull team boss analyzes their Singapore GP qualifying session

Red Bull F1 team Principal Christian Horner stated that the team have to move past the disappointment of the qualifying session and look to fight on Sunday in the main race.

As per F1.com, Horner said:

“There’s a lot for us to consider this evening. First thing we need to do is put the disappointment behind us and look to work out what has caused our drop in pace and performance. We tried a new aero part in practice, but what we went into qualifying with is tried and tested. For whatever reason, the car just hasn’t responded to this circuit."

"There is a lot to do but we won’t give up on anything. Starting outside of the top 10 at a track that is notoriously hard to overtake is going to be tough but we certainly haven’t written this weekend off. The points are awarded on Sunday and there is plenty to play for," he added.

There is a very serious chance that Red Bull's winning streak this season may come to a halt in Singapore as it is very difficult for them to target the top step this weekend.