Former Ferrari and Williams team manager Peter Windsor has slammed Max Verstappen for his “over the top” reaction to being eliminated in Q2 at the Singapore Grand Prix, something which hasn’t happened since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix earlier in the season.
After being so dominant for the entire season, nobody could’ve predicted that both Verstappen and Sergio Perez would be eliminated in Q2, even though the side looked weak during free practice.
Despite Red Bull having struggled throughout the three practice sessions, most expected them to still find a way to be near the top in qualifying; however, that simply wasn’t the case.
Both Verstappen and Perez really struggled for pace, resulting in the first time since the 2018 Russian Grand Prix that Red Bull didn’t have a car feature in Q3.
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The reigning World Champion will start the race in P11 with Perez two places behind in 13th, leaving both with a mountain to climb to extend Red Bull’s winning streak to 16 races.
Verstappen in particular will need the performance of a lifetime to extend his record-breaking winning streak to 11 races, something which looks almost impossible.
Windsor was listening closely to Verstappen’s radio following his exit and admitted that he sounded “grumpy”, with the 71-year-old having not been impressed by his reaction.
“We didn’t see the whole lap but I heard the radio transmission from Max afterward which was pretty grumpy, really overly so I think, for a guy who’s got this year’s championship sewn up, who’s had a brilliant car underneath him all year,” Windsor said after qualifying.
“It was along the lines of did you see that, it was just impossible to drive.
“It was over the top really, I thought of that reaction. But not happy.”
As for Checo, the Mexican driver didn’t even set a truly competitive lap in Q2, as he spun at third corner on his final push lap.
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Windsor criticised the 33-year-old for making an error that an “inexperienced driver” would’ve made, in what was a day to forget.
“Sergio Perez just lost the whole thing at Turn One in a very inelegant spin, the type a rather inexperienced driver would have. It was obviously just no front end from his point of view at all,” Windsor added.
“So neither of them made it through into Q3,” he said.