Verstappen 'interested' to see impact of Singapore track changes
Max Verstappen says that he's interested in seeing the impact of Singapore's track changes on his car's behaviour as the Dutchman is anticipating higher average speeds at the venue.
Due to redevelopment work of The Float area at Marina Bay, the old turns 16 to 19 will be bypassed, creating a longer full-throttle section between turn 14 and the old turn 20, which is now Turn 16.
The overall length of the circuit has been shortened to 4.94km, which should shave approximately 20 seconds off last year's lap times according to simulations, while the race distance has increased from 61 to 62 laps.
Next weekend, Verstappen will be gunning for a record 11th consecutive win in 2023. But the Red Bull charger isn't expecting an easy Sunday drive on the sweltering streets of Singapore.
"I’m looking forward to the night race in Singapore, Marina Bay is a cool circuit," he said in his team's Singapore Grand Prix preview.
"This year it will be interesting to see how the revised track layout will impact the general behaviour and set-up of the car, I think the lap times will be much quicker.
"Singapore is probably going to be the most challenging weekend out of the upcoming races as the stakes are heightened on a street circuit and the field is usually very close, not to mention the heat and humidity.
"Last year we had a very unlucky weekend, hopefully this year it will go a bit better and we’ll of course do our best to make sure we score maximum points this weekend."
Indeed, a botched qualifying in 2022 left Verstappen in F1's midfield from where he never recovered, in large part due to the tricky track conditions on the day.
Fortunately, Sergio Perez picked up the baton to win the race from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Next weekend will be the Mexican's 250th race start in F1, so an outright second win in succession for Perez at Marina Bay would be the perfect achievement to cap that milestone.
"Last season was probably one of the best races of my career, it was such a hard one to navigate, with the heat, the track conditions and the concentration that is required around a street circuit," Perez explained.
"Of course, I would love to repeat the win but it will be tricky, the new track layout is going to make things quicker in sector three and there will be rain, so it could be fun!
©RedBull
"This weekend is my 250th race in Formula 1 and I never would have imagined I would race an F1 car that many times when I started my career.
"It has been a dream and I am proud to have represented Mexico all over the world for this many years and I would love to give them another win this Sunday.
"I have a one-off helmet to mark the moment and I think it’s going to look very special under the lights at night."
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