Sainz after qualifying: 'No Verstappen in Q3 was good to hear'

Max Verstappen stranded in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix as early as Q2. To everyone's surprise, the Dutchman did not get beyond an 11th time. Teammate Sergio Perez also did not make it to Q3, starting from P13 tomorrow. For a number of drivers, the absence of Verstappen in Q3 was a surprise, says Carlos Sainz.

Carlos Sainz took pole position in an exciting qualifying session in Singapore. Asked how he reacted to the news that Verstappen would not be in the fight for pole position, the Spaniard said the following: "My engineer told me the two Red Bulls were out and obviously it was not bad news to have." The Ferrari driver says he expected qualifying to be an exciting battle between himself, Leclerc, Russell, Norris and also with Verstappen.

Sainz continued: "Also more looking into the race. I thought the battle for pole position was not going to be affected too much but the battle for the win probably. It was decent news to receive for sure." George Russell and Charles Leclerc were asked the same question, but they were not informed by their engineer. Still, Verstappen's elimination came as a surprise to them too.

Verstappen will start the Singapore Grand Prix from 11th. The two-time world champion avoided a trio of penalties and only got off with reprimands. Whether the Dutchman will be able to make up many positions remains to be seen, the Red Bull RB19 simply does not seem to have it together in Singapore.