Max Verstappen vows Red Bull fightback as McLaren head to Singapore on top

SINGAPORE – Max Verstappen declared “the fight is not over” ahead of the Sept 20-22 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, after Red Bull were knocked off the top of the Formula One constructors’ standings for the first time in 2½ years.

McLaren leapt into a 20-point lead after Oscar Piastri’s victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and Lando Norris, who carved his way to fourth place, is hunting down the Dutchman at the top of the drivers’ standings.

Three-time world champion Verstappen’s lead has been reduced to 59 points with seven grands prix and three sprints to go, leaving a maximum of 206 points up for grabs.

He won seven of the first 10 races this season, but has not triumphed in the last seven as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have all taken race wins.

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko said after Baku, where Verstappen finished fifth, that they have no chance of retaining the constructors’ title, but the Dutchman has not conceded defeat yet.

Declaring that the “fight is not over,” he said: “Marina Bay is a cool circuit but we do expect this to be a bit more of a challenge.

“We think we know what we can do better and of course need to make sure that we are optimising the set up. It will be important to keep the car in control a bit more in the slow speed so it doesn’t jump around and this should hopefully help us a lot.”

But history suggests that Verstappen’s fortunes are unlikely to see an uptick around the unpredictable Marina Bay Street Circuit this weekend.

Red Bull have consistently struggled under the lights in Singapore.

It was the only race they failed to win last season and Verstappen has also not won on the tight street circuit, where overtaking is tough.

Tropical storms – afternoon thundery showers have been forecast for Sept 22 – intense humidity, concrete barriers, safety cars and red flags also add to the uncertainty.

Teammate and street circuit specialist Sergio Perez did win in Singapore in 2022, but that was Red Bull’s only victory there since Sebastian Vettel in 2013.

After a strong start to the campaign, Red Bull are on the back foot.

“We have lost out on some significant points in the championship. However, we will brush ourselves down and fight back hard,” team principal Christian Horner said.

McLaren, by contrast, are in buoyant mood as they target a first team world title since 1998.

“First in the constructors’ championship is an important milestone in our journey,” said team principal Andrea Stella. “However, the team remain clearly focused on the task ahead. We quickly turn our attention to Singapore.”

The high downforce track in Singapore has traditionally been of benefit to Mercedes.

“We’ve also got lots of data to work through ahead of Singapore,” said seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, trying to take some positives from a ninth-placed finish in Baku after an engine change forced him to start from the pit lane.

“We’ve got some upgrades coming before the end of the year so, hopefully, we can make a step closer to those at the front soon.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won at Monza, but he could not make it two in a row after starting from pole position for the fourth year in a row at Baku and, as on the three previous occasions, failing to convert that into a victory.

But Leclerc, who is only 19 points behind Norris and still firmly in the hunt for the drivers’ title, also vowed to “come back stronger” at Marina Bay this weekend. AFP