Verstappen finally breaks the Singapore curse

Hi racing fans,

Ronald Vording with Motorsport Network here. Welcome back to THE WEEK IN MAX VERSTAPPEN, Motorsport’s newest newsletter dedicated to the four-time champion.

After a rather hot weekend in Singapore, it’s time to wrap up this triple-header and fly back to Europe after a month away from home.

Following a short break, the F1 circus will head straight into another triple-header on the other side of the world, across the Americas. But before that, it’s time for me to look back on a weekend full of milestones: Verstappen’s 250th Grand Prix start, his 50th pole position and, above all, a first – that long-awaited victory under Singapore’s floodlights.

Check it all out below.

Until last weekend, there were still two circuits on the current F1 calendar missing from Max Verstappen’s list of victories: the Madring and the Marina Bay Street Circuit. In Madrid’s case, that is easily explained, as F1 only visited the heavily criticized track for the first time this year, but Singapore had been an Achilles’ heel for Red Bull for years. Until now.

When I attended Thursday’s media session in the Red Bull hospitality, Max was still cautious, as he often is on media day: yes, Red Bull had been competitive with its major upgrade in Baku and Sepang – two completely different circuits – but in his view, Singapore represented a third extreme. And one that Red Bull had consistently struggled with.

In 2026, however, Red Bull proved more than capable of mastering that third extreme. Verstappen took sprint pole and the sprint win, but when I asked him what that meant to him, his answer was pretty clear: “I don't feel any emotion connected to a sprint race. I'm here to win the main race.” He identified Red Bull’s poor starts as the biggest danger for Sunday, but still managed to hold his ground into the first corner in typical fashion: by taking plenty of risks around the outside.

After that, Verstappen and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase still had to overcome a radio problem, but communicating in code proved effective too. “Maybe GP even liked the fact that he couldn't hear me!”, Max joked after the race. Red Bull sent Verstappen’s race engineer up to the podium as well, with the team confirming to me that Lambiase’s successor, Tom Hart, will be heard over the team radio in Austin, São Paulo and Las Vegas – all to lay the groundwork for their future working relationship.

But before that, and before we visit the bumpy Circuit of the Americas – for which Max thinks he will need a new spine – it’s time to take stock of this rather hot triple-header: two victories and a second place. Not too bad for what was still a “paper car” just a month ago at Monza…

Another consequence of Verstappen’s recent resurgence is that he suddenly has the top three in the championship within reach, something that seemed almost unthinkable after Red Bull’s painful start. The turnaround has come too late for him to play a part in the title fight, but after Singapore, Verstappen is now just eight points behind Lewis Hamilton and seventeen behind George Russell.

The latter told me in the media pen on Sunday that he now sees Red Bull as the team to beat in F1, meaning even the runner-up spot in this year’s championship is within Verstappen’s reach. Nice, you might think, but Max was pretty clear when I asked him what finishing second or third in the standings would mean to him: absolutely nothing. “No, because ultimately you're not winning. You're not becoming world champion, and that's the only thing that matters to me.”

It sums up Verstappen’s mindset, and finishing second or third would actually come with a downside. In that case, Verstappen would have to attend the FIA prize-giving ceremony, which will be held in Shanghai on December 12 this year, and he is not exactly the biggest fan of that event.

That led to the most entertaining media moment of the weekend. When I asked Verstappen during our Dutch media session whether he was already getting nervous about December 12, a smile appeared on his face: “Is that the prize-giving ceremony? Well, I was really ill last year!”

In reality, Verstappen couldn't care less about finishing second or third in the standings, but one thing matters far more to him: the recent turnaround bodes well for the remaining races of this season and, above all, for 2027, when he hopes to be fighting for the biggest prizes again with Red Bull – with the team's long-awaited new wind tunnel also expected to become operational early that year.

MOTORSPORT · RONALD VORDING
The hidden factor that gives Max Verstappen and Red Bull extra hope for 2027
Verstappen points to a 2027 boost for Red Bull that has nothing to do with the car itself.

MOTORSPORT · RONALD VORDING
Max Verstappen jokes about coded messages as Red Bull plans first races for Gianpiero Lambiase’s successor
A broken radio had GP talking to Max in code, while Red Bull maps out Tom Hart’s first races.

MOTORSPORT · RONALD VORDING
George Russell calls Red Bull "the team to beat" in F1, but Kimi Antonelli adds a key caveat
Russell sees Red Bull as the new benchmark, but Antonelli points the finger closer to home.

MOTORSPORT · RONALD VORDING
Charles Leclerc admits he missed a chance against Max Verstappen – but not the obvious one
Leclerc has no regrets about Turn 1. His real missed chance came a few laps later.

MOTORSPORT · OLEG KARPOV
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Two wins in a row have Oleg Karpov questioning what we thought we knew about Mercedes’ 2026 edge.

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Cheers,

Ronald

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The Week in Max Verstappen is an independent editorial product from Motorsport. It is not affiliated with Max Verstappen, Verstappen.com Racing, or Red Bull Racing.