Max Verstappen sets out target for Singapore as he predicts ‘not our easiest weekend’ for Red Bull

Max Verstappen is hopeful of having a better weekend in Singapore than he experienced in 2023 – where Red Bull faced one of their toughest outings in an otherwise dominant year – but the Dutchman acknowledges that the nature of the track could still be a challenge for the RB20.

In a season that saw him clinch a record-breaking 19 race wins across 23 Grands Prix, Verstappen’s worst result of last year came at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, with the world champion finishing in fifth place during the team’s most difficult weekend of the campaign.

However, when asked ahead of the 2024 event if he is confident that things will be better this time around, Verstappen explained: “I know it’s not going to be our easiest weekend, straight up.

“But you analyse the race that you did last year – [there were] a few things that could have been done better. That’s what we’ll try to do this weekend.

“I don’t expect it to suddenly be one of our strongest weekends, but I just hope that what we did in Baku stabilised the car a bit more – that was positive, and hopefully we can just build on that and see around here. It’s a bit more bumpy than Baku, but hopefully the car can take it.”

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - SEPTEMBER 15: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull — Verstappen is hoping that progress made by the team in Azerbaijan can be carried forward into Singapore

Red Bull have faced issues with the RB20 across recent races, meaning that Verstappen has not taken a victory since the Spanish Grand Prix in June.

Pushed on which problems that appeared last time out in Azerbaijan could potentially repeat in Singapore, the 26-year-old said: “It’s just our car is generally not very good on bumps and kerbs, and that’s of course what we have around here, so we need to try and stabilise that a bit.”

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Verstappen’s challenging weekend at the venue in 2023 saw him just miss out on Q3 in qualifying. When asked if he is confident of making the cut this time around, he responded: “I would hope so, yeah.

“But, putting a number on it, I don’t know where to start. I’m confident that we can do a better job than last year, but at the same time the competition has improved quite a bit, naturally. I’m definitely targeting Q3, and we’ll see where we end up.”

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - SEPTEMBER 19: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing — Verstappen continues to lead the drivers' standings, despite not taking a victory since the Spanish Grand Prix in June

Despite going without a victory during recent weekends, Verstappen remains at the top of the drivers’ standings with a 59-point lead over nearest challenger Lando Norris. Red Bull, meanwhile, have been overhauled in the battle for P1 of the constructors’, with McLaren now ahead by 20 points.

With seven races to go, Verstappen was quizzed on whether he is mentally preparing for a fight to the wire, or if he remains confident that Red Bull can rediscover their form.

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“It’s not mentally preparing, I just want to make the car faster and [find] better balance,” Verstappen conceded. “If I manage to do that with the team then I know that we can be very competitive again, and that’s the only thing that I can do.

“It’s no secret to that. We just need to find a bit more performance and just make our lives a bit easier.”