16 September 2023 , 12:05
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Danica Patrick remains wary of Red Bull despite the runaway leaders showing questionable pace in Singapore Grand Prix practice.
In all three sessions, the top team have struggled to make an impact. And Max Verstappen in particular struggled more than usual, very unhappy with the balance of his car on Friday and then the speed of his gear changes on Saturday morning.
Taking advantage of their misfortune, Ferrari set Italian tongues wagging by going fastest in all three practice sessions. Mercedes will hope to make the most of any Red Bull struggles in the competitive sessions this weekend, while Lando Norris also looked strong in practice in his upgraded McLaren.
Judging by Verstappen's frustration over the radio, Red Bull do seem to have genuine problems in their cars this weekend. But Sky Sports pundit Patrick was keen to take it all with a pinch of salt, and thinks the team might be playing games with their rivals.
"I'm not always buying every time that a team has a bad day, or even a session," she said. "There's probably games getting played, and then sometimes you just miss it. So yeah, not really counting them out. But they did come in saying it would probably be a little bit more of a struggle, and so far that’s been true... it's only Friday."
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Colleague Bernie Collins, a former strategist with Aston Martin and McLaren, nodded her head in agreement that it is a possibility. Having kept a close eye on the first two practice sessions of the weekend in particular, she found it tough to assess exactly where each team is at in terms of performance this weekend.
Collins said: "All year, Red Bull has been up front, but behind that it's been very difficult to tell the order, and I think that is the case here. And it is a drivers track almost, we spoke so much about the confidence, so I think you will get a very potentially mixed up grid or you'll get more than just the standard order in that top 10."
Ferrari will certainly feel good about their chances of pole position. Not only did they manage that last time out at the Italian Grand Prix, but their drivers also topped all three practice sessions in Singapore while Red Bull struggled.
Norris, with a fresh set of significant McLaren upgrades, has also shown strong pace so far. And Mercedes are hopeful of a strong weekend with both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell expressing their satisfaction with what was, unusually for the Silver Arrows this year, a trouble-free day on Friday.