Max Verstappen reflected on his "terrible weekend" which saw him miss out on the chance to secure back-to-back titles and Red Bull forced to defend themselves from accusations of breaking cost cap rules.
Much of the build-up to the Singapore Grand Prix was centred around Verstappen's opportunity to confirm the success of his Formula 1 title defence with five more races to go. But he was forced to wait as the weekend did not go according to plan.
A lap that looked certain for pole position had to be abandoned in qualifying as he was dangerously low on fuel. And then in the race he had a horrible start off the line from which he was unable to fully recover in the treacherously wet conditions.
After settling for seventh, Verstappen will at least be comfortable in the knowledge he has another chance to secure the title next weekend. Despite that, and how unlikely it is he will be caught before the end of the season, he appeared in an irritable mood as he reflected on how the weekend had gone.
"It's not where we want to be – you put yourself in a spot like that and it can either work brilliantly and you can drive back to the front or it's very frustrating like we had," he said. "This has just been a really terrible weekend which started with the big mess-up in qualifying. We have five races left and we have a big lead but I want to have a good weekend every single time."
Verstappen will once again be favourite for victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, but it may be a turbulent week for his team before the action begins at Suzuka. On Wednesday, the FIA is set to release the findings of its 2021 budget cap audit process amid rumours Red Bull and Aston Martin may have breached regulations.
Team chief Christian Horner is adamant that his team is in the clear, and even threatened those who made the "defamatory" claims with legal action. He followed that up with the assertion that he is "absolutely confident" Red Bull will not fall foul of the rules.
It seems Verstappen is just as irked as his boss about the claims, as he gave a snappy response when asked by reporters for his take on the rumours. "Other teams talk about it while they have no information so I find that a bit silly. Just keep your mouths shut," said the Dutchman.
Any cost cap breach could see teams retrospectively docked points, which may change the outcome of last year's title race if Red Bull were found to be guilty. But Horner has no concerns about that happening at all, adding: "We believe that we are comfortably within the cap."
