Stalling on the start line in his rookie year, 2015 gave Max Verstappen his first indication that the Marina Bay Street Circuit may be his trickiest nut to crack in F1. A decade ago, the 18-year-old, driving for Red Bull’s sister team, Toro Rosso, stormed back to eighth from a lap down before defiantly screaming “No!” to his team when asked to let teammate Carlos Sainz past. It’s fair to say we’ve seen numerous instances of non-compliance a fair few times in the years since.
Two years on, Verstappen would be sandwiched between two Ferraris and powerless to a collision with Kimi Raikkonen, in F1’s first-ever wet race at night in 2017, which brought about one of the most chaotic start procedures in recent history. In 2022, a fuel quantity mishap in qualifying ruined the Dutchman’s weekend, while a year later, Singapore was the only race Red Bull failed to win amid an otherwise peerless F1 campaign. Verstappen couldn’t even finish on the podium, having to settle for fifth.
And so to 2025: a year in which Verstappen has emerged from a position of nothingness to an outside contender for the world championship. Back-to-back victories in Monza and Baku, alongside Oscar Piastri‘s crash last time out, mean the gap to the championship leader now stands at 69 points, with seven rounds and 199 points remaining.
A sizeable deficit, sure, but no longer one completely insurmountable.
“I have nothing to lose, really,” said a cool-headed Verstappen on media day, fresh and raring to go after his debut win in GT3 racing at the Nurburgring last week, signing off a sumptuous September in style.
“Sixty-nine points is still a lot, especially when you look at how the season has gone so far, and McLaren have been incredibly dominant. That doesn’t suddenly change.”
Turns out, it does. Red Bull have clearly found a leap in performance over the last two rounds and while they have historically struggled in Singapore, their exploits at Baku’s twisty street circuit last time out show that their newfound superiority is not just limited to high-speed circuits like Monza.
Verstappen has often struck an unusually melancholy tone this season, unfazed by the prospect of five consecutive titles (a feat only matched by Michael Schumacher at Ferrari) falling by the wayside. Indeed, he still seemed somewhat indifferent in Singapore – the only current track on the calendar he has failed to master with a victory.
“Some tracks will be better, some worse, and this could be one of those,” he said. “But if we win it, great, and if we don’t, we don’t. Life goes on.”
Verstappen should be rubbing his hands together; however, given the noises coming from team McLaren, particularly in the Lando Norris camp. Speaking to journalists in the city-state, the Briton declared it is “almost impossible” to match Verstappen’s level, given the Dutchman was born into a racing family.
Verstappen’s father Jos, Christian Horner’s greatest foe, competed in 106 F1 races and was a teammate of Schumacher. His mother, Sophie Kumpen, enjoyed a successful karting career.
“He is one of the best drivers ever in Formula One, so if anyone ever comes up to you and says, ‘Yes (they will be as good as Verstappen)’, just tell them to f*** off,” Norris said, in an odd set of comments amid the battle of a three-way title race.
“Any driver in the world can just be confident in saying that kind of thing, but I think it is almost impossible.
“He never goes to 101 per cent, but he will always be at 100 per cent, and when he has a bad day, he is at 99 per cent. And it is hard to beat someone who was born into an F1 seat.
“If I could go back and choose how to be a better driver, I would also have a mum and dad who were racing drivers, start when you are a baby in the paddock, start karting at whatever age he did and do more testing than everyone else.”
Mercifully for McLaren, early indications indicate that their championship leader Piastri has re-found the composure that deserted him in Baku. The Australian was quickest in a chaotic second practice session on Friday, which saw George Russell and Liam Lawson crash out, while Charles Leclerc hit Norris in the pit lane.
Such drama in qualifying on Saturday – at a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult – would not be a surprise. Only this time, with a deficit to make up, it could well work in Verstappen’s favour.
