F1 News
Max Verstappen wants one thing in Singapore: to finish ahead of rival Norris
- Ludo van Denderen
Max Verstappen believes that winning in Singapore is not realistic. The Dutchman made his focus clear, though. He wants to limit the damage as much as possible by finishing ahead of his title rival, Lando Norris, and then be ready to make a step forward in Austin with an updated and improved RB20.
Verstappen is looking forward to the United States Grand Prix, but must compete in Singapore first. "I don't know if it's a make or break, but from now on, of course, we want to make steps forward," said the Dutchman in Singapore.
Verstappen doesn't want to reveal too many details about the updates coming in Austin. "But we're just trying to get the balance back together. I think Baku was already a small step forward, so we just need to continue that route. You can't really do a lot from Baku, but hopefully with the two, three weeks that we have [before Austin], we can make some further improvements. There's still a few more rounds left where I think we can improve the car, which will also help for next year," Verstappen added.
Verstappen has never won in Singapore
Verstappen won nearly all of the races during the 2023 Formula 1 season. He won 19 out of 22, with Sergio Perez adding two more for Red Bull Racing. In fact, Singapore remains the only track on the current calendar where he has not yet won at. "Most of the time, we just came up short," the Dutchman explained. "I've been on the podium. But for the last few years, the car has not been the best. We've just been struggling on the bumps and the kerbs. ‘22 would have been a good shot at it, but I didn't have enough fuel in the car in qualifying, so then you start further back."
"Sometimes it just doesn't work out, where in other races, the luck is a bit more on your side, or naturally the car is in a better window in these tracks and it comes to you a bit more, where here, I think so far, it hasn't been like that. But yeah, I still have a few more goes at it, so we'll see if it changes," Verstappen concluded.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton
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