Autosport has reported:

Max Verstappen has urged Red Bull to improve its starts before Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix, saying another slow getaway could end his race. George Russell passed him at the start of Saturday’s sprint at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, repeating a problem Verstappen had also experienced against both Mercedes cars in Malaysia.

“The start was horrendous again, so that's definitely something that we need to improve on,” Verstappen said. “If you have something like that tomorrow, that's your race over, if nothing crazy happens.” Asked what had gone wrong, he said: “As always, it just doesn't go off the line. The car just doesn't go, we don't accelerate off the line.”

Verstappen said Red Bull had been dealing with the issue for some time and that the team needed to address its limitations. “We have a few limitations that we have to work on, and that is probably from our side as well,” he said. “We have to do a better job because Racing Bulls sometimes does better starts than us, so yeah, we just need to be better.”

The four-time world champion’s comments came a day after he topped a Formula 1 qualifying session at Marina Bay for the first time and then won the sprint at the same venue. The two sprint sessions indicated that Red Bull’s RB22 was competitive in Singapore, where the team has struggled in recent years, but Verstappen said the sprint result carried little personal significance.

“I want to win tomorrow,” he said. “I don't see this as a win in terms of actually winning a grand prix.” Verstappen has said before that he feels no emotion when winning sprint races and is not a fan of the format. Asked whether the Singapore result meant more because of Red Bull’s past difficulties at the street circuit, he said it did not change his feelings.

“My emotion is the same,” he said. “It doesn't matter to me if I have won on the track before or not.” The sprint, he said, showed only that Red Bull was moving in the right direction with the RB22. His attention was on Sunday’s grand prix, with qualifying and the start both concerns. Overtaking is difficult in Singapore, making a strong qualifying result particularly important.

Saturday’s poor start did not ultimately cost Verstappen the sprint victory. Russell, who had surged ahead, crashed out in front of him at the end of the opening lap. Verstappen said the Mercedes driver had been pushing hard and had already been sideways several times before reaching the final corner.

“He was already sideways a few times in that first lap, so I think he was just pushing quite hard on the first lap,” Verstappen said. “And then in the last corner, he clipped the white line and, of course, it did send him into the wall. It’s an easy mistake to make, I guess, and unlucky at the same time.”

Verstappen avoided taking similar risks on the partially wet track, where drivers found there was only one racing line and passing was nearly impossible unless another driver made a mistake. He said he had to stay attentive as conditions shifted, with some parts of the road drying while others remained greasy and tyre degradation continued.

“It was calm in a way, but at the same time, you need to be focused. If you relax, it’s easy to make a mistake or go wide, so it was more about paying attention,” he said. “Stay calm, but pay attention on the road ahead with your tyres degrading and the road becoming dry in some places and greasy in others. You just have to be patient.”

Verstappen said patience helped him through the sprint, but he still had two tasks before he could pursue the grand prix win he valued: getting the second qualifying session of the weekend right and improving Red Bull’s start. The sprint victory followed his first top position in a qualifying session at Marina Bay, but he said neither result changed his focus on Sunday’s race.