“We're just way worse than we expected": Max Verstappen predicts possible Red Bull struggle against Ferrari pace advantage in Singapore Grand Prix

Max Verstappen sounded disappointed after the Friday (September 15) practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix as Ferrari topped the sessions with incredible pace.

The first two practice sessions of the Singapore GP came to an end and Ferrari seem to have improved their car as was visible from the charts. Both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc topped FP1 and FP2.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen, who has been unbeatable this season, was a 10th down in FP1 and seven-tenths down in FP2. Reflecting on the sessions, he said that he tried to improve, but couldn't and that the Ferraris were too fast.

"I tried to, of course, improve, but it's quite a big gap."

"Ferrari is very fast, i believe we're just way worse than we expected."

The Scuderia looked strong in Monza as well during the Italian Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz had held Max Verstappen behind him very well for the initial laps but lost the lead later.

The simulation from F1 shows that Ferrari definitely have a qualifying lap advantage over Red Bull. It is quite different from the rest of the season. The latter, again, seems to have the lead for the main race.

However, this is only the data after two practice sessions, and the actual data could vary depending on a lot of factors.

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Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez disappointed with Red Bull's state in Singapore

The championship leader did talk about the Ferraris being faster than their expected pace. But he also mentioned that the balance of the car remains one of the unsorted things after the end of the session on Day 1 at Marina Bay. F1 quoted him as saying:

"We’re just struggling a lot with the balance of the car. We tried quite a few things in FP2; some worked, some didn’t. We never really got the car together so it’s quite a few things to figure out tonight."

His teammate, Sergio Perez sounded monotonous as he talked about the car, stating the issues that he faced, especially with the rear. During FP2, he complained about the same to his team on the radio.

"We seem to be struggling quite a bit with the rear end of the car, especially in FP2, so plenty of things to look at, and hopefully we can come up with the best possible set-up, because we know qualifying is very, very important."