SINGAPORE: Max Verstappen’s late-season resurgence faces its toughest examination yet at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver has closed the championship gap with back-to-back victories in Monza and Baku.
Verstappen now sits third in the standings, 69 points behind leader Oscar Piastri with seven grands prix remaining.
Lando Norris occupies second place, 25 points behind his McLaren teammate and 44 ahead of Verstappen.
The Dutch driver remains cautious about his prospects for a fifth consecutive world title.
Red Bull historically struggle at the demanding Marina Bay Street Circuit under Singapore’s lights.
Verstappen has never won in Singapore despite his 67 career grand prix victories.
The physically demanding circuit features extreme heat, humidity and unpredictable weather conditions.
Drivers can lose up to three kilograms during the longest race on the Formula One calendar.
Completing the 62 laps often takes the full two-hour maximum race time allowed.
Verstappen acknowledged everything must go perfectly for him to challenge the McLarens this weekend.
Red Bull’s recent performance improvement followed a floor upgrade introduced at Monza.
The three-time champion has finally mastered the handling of the twitchy 2025 Red Bull car.
Team adviser Helmut Marko described the back-to-back wins as reviving championship hopes.
Marko confirmed Singapore presents particular challenges for the Red Bull package.
The circuit requires high downforce setups where Red Bull traditionally struggle.
Qualifying becomes crucial at a track where overtaking proves nearly impossible.
Singapore remains the only circuit where Verstappen failed to podium during Red Bull’s dominant 2023 season.
Marko noted extreme heat compounds the team’s Singapore difficulties.
The Austrian described this weekend as the true benchmark for Red Bull’s progress.
McLaren need just 13 points in Singapore to secure their second consecutive constructors’ championship.
Piastri’s Baku crash and Norris’s seventh-place finish delayed their title celebration.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown acknowledged Verstappen has become a championship disruptor.
Brown confirmed the team will monitor Verstappen’s threat throughout the remaining races.
The American executive expects McLaren to secure the constructors’ title in Singapore.
Brown ruled out implementing team orders between Piastri and Norris for the drivers’ championship.
McLaren want their drivers to compete fairly against Verstappen for the title.
The team hopes to ultimately remove Verstappen from the three-way championship battle. – AFP