SINGAPORE — After breaking a Formula 1 record by winning his 10th consecutive race at the Italian Grand Prix on Sept 3, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has set his sights on continuing this hot streak at the Marina Bay Circuit this weekend.
Never mind if he has never won the Singapore Grand Prix before.
“Of course, I want to try and continue that (winning) streak but I know that there will be a day that it will stop,” said Verstappen at a press conference on Thursday (Sept 14).
Held at the F1 Pit Building in Marina Bay, Verstappen and nine other drivers including Mercedes’ George Russell and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz spoke about their performance in the Formula One season so far and how they are preparing for the upcoming night race here — touted as one of the most gruelling tracks due to the humidity and nature of the circuit.
But despite the Singapore circuit being one with “more risk and chaos”, Verstappen said he is still here to win and will try to do that during the race on Sunday.
On whether he feels pressured about maintaining his record-breaking streak, Verstappen said that he does not track the wins, and is instead focusing on doing his best.
“I just always want to do the best I can. So naturally every single weekend it’s basically the same amount of pressure you put on yourself to try and get the best result out of it,” he said.
“So nothing really changes on that side.”
Verstappen is currently leading this season’s drivers championships, with 364 points — 145 points ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez.
By all accounts, he has had a stunning year so far, winning 12 out of the 15 races so far to be the outright favourite to win the drivers’ title.
However, the Dutchman has never won a race in Singapore, finishing seventh on the grid last year while his teammate, Sergio Perez clinched the top spot with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc coming in second.
Verstappen’s best finish in Singapore was runner-up in 2018.
Though Verstappen will not yet clinch the drivers championship even if he wins in Singapore, it is possible for Red Bull to win the Constructors’ Championship should both its drivers come in first and second place.
Asked about his comment after winning the Italian Grand Prix in Monza about how the Singapore Grand Prix will be harder for Red Bull, Verstappen said: “I think we are just not as competitive as (we are on) other tracks. I think the street circuits are a little bit tougher for our car.”
“I still think that we can do a good job but it will be very tight.”
The changes to the track this year could put less strain on the tyres and Verstappen is hoping that it will help with the race performance.
The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix will see its biggest changes to the circuit yet, including the removal of the four 90 degree corners towards the end of the lap that will create a longer straight due to construction work at the Marina Bay floating platform.
These changes will put less stress on the tyres and allow drivers a quick breather.
On the changes, Verstappen remarked: “Less braking, less steering, it’s more relaxed,” he said, to chuckles from the other drivers.
But Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was not “so keen” on the track changes.
“Usually the more corners, the better it is for us so I wasn’t so keen. But I’ve always loved Singapore for how twisty and technical it is,” he said.
On the two chicanes — a tight series of twists and turns, which have been taken away and one grandstand which is facing “the wrong way”, he quipped: “Hopefully they didn’t sell too many tickets there.”