MARINA BAY STREET CIRCUIT, SINGAPORE — Max Verstappen insists Red Bull can "forget about" any success in Sunday's Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton has similarly written off his chances in a car which he ranks as the "hardest" to drive of his entire Formula 1 career.
Carlos Sainz of Ferrari finished Saturday's qualifying session in the sweltering heat of downtown Singapore on top, taking P1 for a second straight race with a fastest lap time of 1:30.984.
The Spaniard pipped George Russell by 0.074 seconds, as the Mercedes man split the Ferraris thanks to a monster sector two on his final lap, while Red Bull were not even in contention by Q3. The runaway leaders faltered in Q2, with reigning champion Max Verstappen placing 11th on the grid and teammate Sergio Perez in 13th.
The horrific display comes after the Red Bull pair had combined to win all 14 races so far this season, Verstappen taking the last 10 in a row to break the all-time F1 record for successive Grand Prix victories.
Red Bull's perfect run will not continue on Sunday, according to the Dutchman, who says the premier street circuit in South East Asia is an impossible one to win on from this position.
MORE: Singapore Grand Prix full qualifying results as Sainz leads grid
He reflected in the paddock: "Yeah, we can forget about that. I don’t want to make it sound too dramatic, but it was a very tough weekend. Today in qualifying has definitely been [the worst in] a long, long time.
"It will be a very tough, long afternoon. You can’t pass. On other tracks, you can start last and win the race. Not here. I want to win, but when it’s not possible, you have to accept that.
"I knew there was a day when you are not winning anymore. We had a really good run, anyway. I would always take a season where we are winning this much and having one really bad weekend, rather than the other way around, where you’re not fighting for the championship and winning here.
"It’s important we understand what we did wrong this weekend, because I’m confident we go to Suzuka and the car is faster. It already felt like that in the simulator — Suzuka felt amazing again, like the other races."
Verstappen's awful evening also saw him reviewed by the stewards for an impeding incident with Yuki Tsunoda, which at the time of writing is unresolved. Though calm in the aftermath, the back-to-back king of F1 was in an expletive-laden mood during Q2.
WATCH: F1's Singapore Grand Prix live in the U.S. with Fubo (free trial)
On why and where it went wrong, he continued: "Actually, I think this morning in FP3 it was better. We made some progress. It was of course not where we wanted to be, but it was looking like something.
"We made a few more changes, which we thought the setup of the car would allow. But then we got into qualifying and the first big problem I had was that I couldn’t brake late and hard, because I would bottom-out and unload the front tyres.
"On a street circuit, that is something that is very crucial, to be confident on the brakes and attack the corners. The low-speed corners, where we have been struggling all weekend, I just had no rear support.
"Clearly, we just don’t understand that issue, otherwise you don’t make these sort of changes and it’s worse. So clearly we are not understanding the car this weekend around this track.
"I didn’t see [Tsunoda] because I was on the radio, and then I didn’t get a call until he was basically behind me. It sums up my qualifying: hectic."
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Meanwhile, long-time rival Hamilton also feels his Sunday will bear no fruit, despite starting from a much stronger position on the grid, in 5th. The seven-time world champion responded, when asked if he has a shot at glory: "Not really.
"I think George has a really good shot at potentially winning. I really hope that he does. I hope he gets a great start and gets ahead of the Ferraris. That would be amazing for the team. For me, it’s just… yeah, see what I can do. If I can get further up, then great.
"I’m really happy for George; he did a mega job. He’s just been connected with the car all weekend. He started good fresh yesterday and was so good today."
On a rare evening in which he and Verstappen were on the same page, the British superstar was similarly flummoxed by his car setup: "It was difficult in the first session, not really different to the last few races. We made a setup change last night — it didn’t work.
"The car was good yesterday on the long run but I changed the car overnight, and I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. This is the hardest car that I’ve ever driven."
WATCH: F1's Singapore Grand Prix live in the U.S. with Fubo (free trial)