Purple Bull has been on the again foot all weekend on the Marina Bay circuit, with each Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez failing to progress to Q3 in qualifying on Saturday.
Verstappen could do no more than 11th in his car, with team-mate Perez thirteenth, and the Dutchman stated modifications made to the automotive after a “not too unhealthy” FP3 in the end derailed his problem.
Requested by Sky F1 if qualifying was worse than he anticipated, Verstappen stated: “Yeah, for certain. I knew that it was already going to be robust to place it on pole, however this I did not anticipate.
“Additionally, I feel all through the weekend we now have been struggling.
“I feel FP3 was not too unhealthy, however then we tried a number of extra issues on the automotive for qualifying the place it tipped it over to the automotive being undriveable once more, the place automotive was massively bottoming out within the braking zones and each time I wished to brake deep and laborious, my entrance wheels had been getting unloaded.
“So, like I stated on the radio, it was only a stunning expertise as a result of additionally simply attempting to lean on the automotive in low velocity, simply continually no velocity, no traction. Simply actually troublesome to drive.”
Verstappen has recovered from low grid slots earlier than to complete on the rostrum this season, like in Saudi Arabia the place he got here from fifteenth to complete second.
However the Dutchman concedes he would not have a automotive ok to battle for the rostrum on Sunday.
Max Verstappen, Purple Bull Racing RB19
Picture by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“No, for certain not,” he replied when requested if he had any hopes of a rostrum within the grand prix.
“I feel anyway right here is far much less about truly having race automotive. It’s kind of like Monaco.
“You set all of it on qualifying and even with deg it is fairly troublesome for anybody to actually cross you, as a result of the tyre put on just isn’t that prime.
“So, will probably be a protracted, robust afternoon. So, hopefully not too many security automobiles and the race can be fairly brief.”
Verstappen faces a number of investigations for potential impeding infractions within the first two segments of qualifying, although admits his night was “so messy” that any grid drop “would not matter”.
“We’ll communicate to the stewards,” he stated. “Actually, at this level, it was simply so messy that it would not matter if we begin from P11, P15 or final.
“At this level, it is simply extra necessary we perceive why it was so unhealthy. That can be far more necessary than attempting to attain a few factors this weekend.”