Back-to-back race wins for Max Verstappen have added a bit of spice to the Formula One title race and McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris will be desperate for solid outings at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend.
McLaren’s dominance for most of the season means they should wrap up a 10th constructors’ title on the streets of the island nation on Sunday, but Verstappen’s resurgence in the Red Bull has triggered a few nerves at the team’s Woking base.
While Piastri still leads Norris by 25 points in what still looks like a two-horse race to the driver’s title, any hiccups at the weekend could allow the Dutchman to cut further into the 69-point gap to first place.
Verstappen has momentum — he was second at his home race before his wins in Italy and Azerbaijan — but probably still needs a spectacular McLaren collapse, as well as wins in the seven remaining races and three sprints, to clinch a fifth straight world title.
Further good news for the McLaren duo is that Red Bull have won only once in the last nine years under the Singapore lights, and never with Verstappen at the wheel. The Dutchman has never been on pole at a circuit where the driver who topped qualifying has won 10 of the 15 editions of the race.
Upgrades to the tricky RB21 have undoubtedly helped Verstappen’s cause but Red Bull Technical Director Pierre Wache believes Singapore will be the true test of the car’s improvement.
“We will see in Singapore where we are. That is not normally our type of track,” he said.
“If we are competitive there and we don’t lose too much ground, then we sort out our problem.”
VERSTAPPEN STILL A THREAT
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella was emphatic that Verstappen was still a threat after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix but the destiny of the title almost certainly remains in his own team’s hands.
Piastri knows he needs to rediscover the consistency and coolness under pressure that helped him to seven race wins before a third place in Italy and crashes in both qualifying and the race in Baku.
“I’m not going to rule (Max) out, but I’m honestly not too concerned with that,” said the Australian, whose Baku disappointment ended a run of 34 straight races with points-scoring finishes.
“Ultimately, I want to make sure that my performances are at the level that they should be, and then I’ll let the rest play out.”
His English teammate Norris, who won from pole in Singapore last year, will be hoping at the very least for no repeat of the pit stop errors that contributed to his disappointing returns from the last two races.
Mercedes driver George Russell, fourth in the standings and second last time out in Azerbaijan, will again be the main threat to McLaren’s coronation as constructors’ champions.
Lewis Hamilton, who is mourning the death of his pet bulldog, has won four times in Singapore but his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc might be a bigger threat at a track where he has twice taken pole position without winning.
Carlos Sainz secured one of his four wins for Ferrari in Singapore two years ago and will have a spring in his step after a podium in Baku, even if his team suspect the Williams car will struggle at the Marina Bay circuit.
Singapore’s high temperatures and fierce humidity test the concentration levels of drivers more than the complexity of the circuit and last year was the first Formula One race in the city without at least one safety car.
