Resurgent Verstappen eyes first-ever win in Singapore
Red Bull driver high on confidence after convincing victory at Bahrain GP
Everybody fears a resurgent Max Verstappen. Just ask Lando Norris.
McLaren’s reigning world champion saw his once-healthy lead cut to just 2 points in the end at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last season as the Red Bull driver stormed back to win race after race, before falling short. That was following the season during which Verstappen had quelled a Norris comeback with a masterclass at a rain-soaked Brazilian GP.
And now the Dutchman has just won his first F1 race of the season at the Bahrain GP in Malaysia, beating to second place championship leader Kimi Antonelli in a Mercedes quite convincingly in the end.
A Verstappen revival is never out of the question when he has the right tools, and it seems like Red Bull have finally got their act together. Consecutive podium finishes in Italy, Spain and Azerbaijan culminated in the top step at Sepang last weekend for his eighth podium of the season.
But the 29-year-old’s remarkable skills will put to the test at this weekend’s Singapore GP. Verstappen has never won at the twisty Marina Bay Street Circuit, where extremes of heat and humidity play a part in the most physically attritional race of the season on a circuit notoriously difficult for overtaking.
Drivers can shed up to three kilograms during the longest outing on the calendar, where completing the 62 steamy laps often lasts the maximum two hours race time allowed.
A floor upgrade coupled with Verstappen finally working out how to get the best from the new generation car led him to call the result at Sepang last weekend "amazing".
The four-time world champion is currently sitting in 6th place on 188 points, equal with Norris, three behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, 26 behind Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton, 48 behind Mercedes’ George Russell and 132 behind Antonelli with 7 races to go.
While it seems unlikely that Verstappen will feature anywhere in the title talk – Antonelli could clinch it even before it reaches its climax in the Middle East – a late Verstappen run could still have a bearing on how close the others can get to the 20-year-old Italian.
Rain could again play a part in the tropical city state, with thunderstorms forecast to affect both Saturday's sprint race and qualifying, and Sunday's night grand prix. And we all saw the chaos caused by a software glitch on the wet surface at the start of the Bahrain GP.
Russell won the Singapore Grand Prix a year ago, edging Verstappen and Norris. That again looks unlikely to happen with the British driver starting from the back of the grid following a power unit penalty.
