Verstappen's Singapore jinx
Max Verstappen has won 61 Grands Prix, started from pole 40 times, but in Singapore he has never managed to top the results sheet neither on Saturday nor on Sunday. Of all the 32 tracks he has visited on the Formula 1 trail, there are only six where the Dutchman has never been quickest in qualifying nor won on Sunday: apart from Singapore, they are Sochi, Istanbul, Mugello, Nurburgring and Portimao. Given that those venues in Turkey, Italy, Germany and Portugal were only used as stopgap races during the two seasons affected by the Covid pandemic, the only significant omission on his win list is the Russian track, where he raced seven times, although this did not include the 2022 and 2023 seasons, when he was totally dominant. In those two years, Max still could not win in Marina Bay: In 2022 victory went to his team-mate Sergio Perez, while last year Carlos Sainz was the only driver to stop Red Bull making a clean sweep of all the races in what was a magical season for them.
Why is it that this amazing pairing of the talented Dutchman and one of the most successful teams of this century has never really clicked at Marina Bay? First and foremost this is a track that is prone to throw up surprises on a regular basis. That becomes clear if you look at which team was dominant in a particular year and who actually won in Singapore that season. In 2008 Fernando Alonso won in the Renault, a surprising result, to this day tainted with suspicion, as he had hardly been competitive all year up to that point, with Ferrari and McLaren the two dominant teams. And what about 2009? Brawn GP and Red Bull left the other teams to fight over crumbs but Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes managed to snatch three wins, one of them in Singapore thanks to an amazing qualifying lap.
In 2015, Singapore was the only race that didn't feature a Mercedes driver on the podium, with Sebastian Vettel winning for Ferrari ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in a Red Bull and Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari. The same happened in 2019, another season where the three-pointed star was dominant, but in Singapore, Ferrari took a third consecutive win, following on from those in Spa and Monza, again courtesy of Vettel.
Marina Bay is a unique track, where finding the right car balance is far from easy and where tyre management is quite unusual. Furthermore, like all street circuits, the Safety Car is often called upon and can throw a spanner in the works and, in this part of the world there's a very high chance of a sudden shower to mix things up still further. Therefore, arriving in Singapore as favourite comes with no guarantees and that adds to the appeal of the Grand Prix that pioneered the concept of the night race.
Can Max Verstappen shake off his Marina Bay jinx this year? On Friday night, after the first two hours of free practice, hardly anyone would have bet on Max, but despite the difficulties Red Bull is experiencing right now, exemplified by Perez's 13th place in qualifying, the Dutchman managed to hoist himself up to the front row thanks to his incredible talent. He has yet to secure pole here, but starting from second on the grid puts him in a great position to try his luck tomorrow.
It won't be easy as Norris seems to be a cut above the rest, but Max is where he needs to be to take advantage of any slip from the Englishman. And given how the starts have gone this year, whenever these two have found themselves side by side with a clear track ahead of them, we can be sure that the McLaren youngster will be feeling more pressure than the three-time world champion.
