Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has promised Max Verstappen will be competitive at Formula 1‘s Singapore Grand Prix despite his winless record at the Marina Bay Circuit.
Heading into the final seven races of the season, Verstappen has been on a run of two back-to-back wins at Monza and Baku, respectively.
This has brought the four-time World Champion tentatively back in contention for defending his title against the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
The RB21 has been a tricky beast for the Dutchman to handle, but it seems like the Milton Keynes-based squad has unlocked some latent pace from its package since the summer break.
Up next, Verstappen might have his toughest test of the season so far, trying to prove his title credentials, as the F1 circus heads to Singapore.
Historically, the Marina Bay Street Circuit has not been the happiest of hunting grounds for the 28-year-old.
In fact, Singapore is the only race on the calendar that Verstappen has failed to conquer, notwithstanding his 67 wins so far.
That said, Mekies has delivered a proclamation that might boost Verstappen’s confidence heading into the race weekend.
“I guess it’s probably fair to say that we have unlocked a bit of performance out of the car after Budapest, regardless of our issues there,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“I don’t think that Singapore will be a repeat of Budapest, so I’m more confident than that.
“Is it going to be enough to fight for the win? Honestly, it’s impossible to say. But it won’t be like Budapest.”
Red Bull outlines biggest concern for Singapore GP
The race at the Hungaroring was a brutal wake-up call for the six-time Constructors’ Champions. Verstappen finished a whopping 72 seconds behind the winner Norris in ninth.
Interestingly, the high-downforce configuration of the Hungaroring greatly resembles that of Singapore. Yet, while Mekies is confident that the team has unlocked enough performance from the RB21 to avoid a repeat of Hungary, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko refused to throw caution to the wind.
“It’s not only high downforce, it’s also bloody hot there, which our car doesn’t seem to like so much,” examined the Austrian.
“So it will be the real benchmark to see where we are.”
Mekies, on the other hand, believes that the team will have a relative advantage over its rivals given the current form book.
But the Frenchman was still coy about predicting whether Verstappen can finally end his winless streak on the streets of Singapore.
“You go to Singapore, you move a bit your equations,” added Mekies.
“You keep the slow-speed corners, but you go to maximum downforce. We have been struggling quite a lot in Budapest, and even before Budapest.
“Also, a much hotter track, and we know how sensitive we are to this aspect, but not only us, almost the whole field.”
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