Verstappen hints at a different gear for wet Singapore GP start

Max Verstappen has hinted Red Bull may move away from second gear for Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix start if it is wet. After qualifying on Saturday, he said second gear was not the right choice for the team at the moment. He did not name an alternative and said he hoped for a dry race.

Verstappen used second gear in the wet at Sepang and in the Singapore Sprint; several rivals, including George Russell, used first gear at both starts.

He said an additional problem in Malaysia compounded other issues and meant second gear did not work properly there. Red Bull thought the choice should work in Singapore if that problem did not return, he said, but it still was not good enough.

Immediately after the Sprint, Verstappen called his start “horrendous”. Later, he said it had been “quite okay” compared with most of the field, though not compared with Russell and Lewis Hamilton.