Max Verstappen has conceded that the Singapore Grand Prix provided a setback to his vague Formula 1 title hopes in 2025, despite outscoring both McLaren drivers.
Verstappen headed into last weekend’s race with consecutive dominant victories in Monza and Baku having reignited talk that he is back in championship contention.
Red Bull’s upswing in competitiveness continued around a circuit where the team has laboured in recent times to enable Verstappen to head home the two McLarens.
However, Verstappen was unable to trouble Mercedes’ George Russell, who delivered his own commanding drive under the lights to consign the Dutchman to second.
With Oscar Piastri missing out on a place on the podium to McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, Verstappen closed the margin to the championship leader to 63 points.
But while he was pleased to maintain Red Bull’s momentum, Verstappen has recognised that he has to make greater inroads to retain his crown with six rounds to go.
Asked whether he is still in the title hunt, Verstappen replied to Sky Sports F1: “For that you need to win. You need to dominate.
“We’re not doing that, or at least we’re not doing that this weekend. So, we’re not catching up enough. For that you had to win today, and we didn’t.
“Yeah, that’s how it is. We already lost way too many points in the beginning of the season. That’s quite clear, but we just try to see it race by race.
“We tried to do the best we can, this track is still not our favourite, I think also for the car, but nevertheless, second, I think, is still a great result.”
Where Verstappen’s victory bid was thwarted in Singapore
Red Bull’s decision to put Verstappen on the Soft tyre compared to Russell on Mediums in the opening stint didn’t work out as the Briton retained the lead at the start.
The reigning champion then had to contend with both braking and gear issues on his Red Bull RB21 as Norris’ McLaren loitered in his mirrors until the chequered flag.
“Yeah, well, we just opted to try something different because normally, if you just cross or pass Turn 1, you just stay there without anything crazy,” he added.
“So we tried. It didn’t really work out. So, then the first stint was always about just surviving on the tyres, trying to make it long enough to then pit for the Hard tyre.
“I think that worked out, but unfortunately, I think the whole race was quite difficult — more difficult than I hoped — for a lot of different reasons, let’s say it like that.
“So a few things we need to understand, why these things went wrong today.
“But even then, around here, even if you have more pace, you can’t pass without anything crazy happening. So I think, for us, second was the maximum result.”
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