TAIPEI,Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 9, 2023--

Max Verstappen faces a fight to take pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix after calling his Red Bull “unacceptable” in final practice. As Carlos Sainz raced to the top of the time charts at the Marina Bay Circuit, Verstappen finished fourth. The Dutchman is on an unprecedented 10-race winning streak with his Red Bull team unbeaten at the 14 rounds of the season so far. But Verstappen bemoaned the handling of his car in the city-state, describing the upshifts in his Red Bull machinery as “unacceptable”. He added: “These upshifts, what the f***. I am just struggling for rear grip. If I competed in drifting, I might win the race.” Verstappen returned to the track in the closing moments of the one-hour running, ringing the neck of his Red Bull to move from sixth to fourth, 0.313 sec slower than Sainz. But his struggles will give the chasing pack hope of finally stopping Verstappen and Red Bull with Ferrari holding the upper hand heading into qualifying later on Saturday. Sainz and team-mate Charles Leclerc traded top spot in the two practice sessions here on Friday, with the former again fastest in the concluding running before the fight for pole. Leclerc looked set to eclipse Sainz only to make a mistake in the second sector before backing out of his speediest lap, finishing fifth. George Russell took an encouraging second for Mercedes, just 0.069 sec slower than Sainz, with Lando Norris third in his McLaren. Lewis Hamilton was sixth for Mercedes, within half-a-second of Sainz. Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez, who won here last year, finished eighth, 0.719 sec back. Qualifying for the 15th round of 22 takes place at 2100 local time (1400 BST). Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen struggles in Singapore practice under the lights On this day in 2021: George Russell joins Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gets goosebumps after landing pole for Italian Grand Prix

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A footballer who was stamped on by England’s Lauren James in a red card incident has called on fans to stop their abuse and “rest”. Nigerian footballer Michelle Alozie asked for James to be shown “respect” following the incident that saw James step on her back as she got to her feet after a tackle. James had the initial yellow card in the 87th minute upgraded to a red card after a VAR check during England’s last-16 World Cup knock-out match against Nigeria. England held on to a 0-0 draw and beat Nigeria 4-2 on penalties, sending them through to the next round of the competition. Alozie issued a classy statement, writing on the social media site X that she understood James’ high passion and emotion at that moment. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter She wrote: “Abeg, rest. We are playing on the world’s stage. This game is one of passion, insurmountable emotions, and moments. All respect for Lauren James.” She added: “Still a red though.” One fan said: “I keep saying it, these players are 10000000% more gracious than the fans. We all could take lessons! “Because not only have they played their hearts out, they have shown how to have a heart off the pitch! Michelle Alozie is pure class and a world treasure!” In an interview following the match, Alozie reiterated there were “no hard feelings” towards James. She said: “We didn't want [James] to move freely and get those shots off that she usually does. It was good for us to have her taken out of the game. “I was a little bit surprised by her reaction to the tackle. I don't think it was really needed. I'm fine, my butt is fine from her stepping on it! I was kind of confused initially. “I didn't understand what was going on at first. There's no hard feelings, it's just a game.” James will be banned for at least one game. Depending on the outcome of FIFA's disciplinary committee meeting, the ban could be extended to three matches, effectively ending her World Cup campaign. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.