Max Verstappen still fuming after team's 'incredibly frustrating' qualifying blunder

Max Verstappen said it is unacceptable that a fuel blunder has harmed his chances of taking the world championship at today's Singapore Grand Prix.

Against the backdrop of accusations that Red Bull has broken Formula 1's salary cap - claims, if proven correct, that will bring into question the legitimacy of Verstappen's title triumph over Lewis Hamilton 10 months ago - the Dutch driver qualified only eighth.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took pole position ahead of Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez. Hamilton finished third, missing out on his first pole of the season by just 0.054 seconds in some thrilling wet-dry qualifying at the Marina Bay Circuit.

Verstappen appeared on course to topple Leclerc with his final throw of the dice, only to be told to abort his lap by Red Bull because he would have been short of the required one litre of fuel.

Verstappen, in the dark over Red Bull's costly error, turned the airwaves blue.

"What the f***?" he yelled over the radio. "What the f***? What the f*** are you guys saying? It is unbelievable, mate. I don't get it. What the f*** is this about?"

Stay up to speed on the latest Formula 1 news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter, 'The Undercut'

He was on-course for an unbelievable lap ??Max was unable to fight for pole in Singapore, after being called into the pits to ensure he had enough fuel for a sample after qualifying#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/lUdIsiu5HJ

Improbable hopes

Verstappen will take his second title in as many years if he wins on Sunday and sets the fastest lap, and teammate Perez and Ferrari's Leclerc finish lower than fourth and eighth, respectively.

But with Leclerc and Perez sharing the front row, and Verstappen way down the order, the 25-year-old's hopes of securing the