Max Verstappen’s revival to be put to the test in steamy Singapore

SINGAPORE – Max Verstappen’s resurgence in Malaysia will be put to the test just 300 kilometres south at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend, where the Red Bull driver may need to overcome the elements and his own poor record at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

An imperious Verstappen took his first chequered flag of 2026 at the wide open and fast Sepang Circuit at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Oct 4.

But it was in a race delayed for 1½ hours after a chaotic formation lap saw cars, including Verstappen’s, grind to halt because of a software glitch in the settings for running in wet conditions.

“It was insane,” said Verstappen. “At some points, we were five-wide on the straight because we couldn’t understand it... I saw eight cars crawling and Lewis (Hamilton) stopped... It’s not what you want for the sport.”

Rain could again play a part in the tropical city state, with thunderstorms forecast to affect both the Oct 10 sprint race and qualifying, and the Oct 11 night grand prix.

Verstappen has never won at the twisty Marina Bay Street Circuit, where extremes of heat and humidity play a part in the most physically attritional race of the season on a circuit notoriously difficult for overtaking.

Drivers can shed up to 3kg during the longest outing on the calendar, where completing the 62 steamy laps often lasts the maximum two hours race time allowed.

A floor upgrade coupled with Verstappen finally working out how to get the best from the new generation car led him to call the result at Sepang four days ago “amazing”.

Runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli was second in the Mercedes and is likely to be challenging for the chequered flag again.

He was the beneficiary of yet more bad luck for his teammate and main title rival George Russell, who was “beyond disappointment” after an agonising power unit failure when running third with five laps to go in Malaysia.

“You’ve almost got to laugh... it’s just so many times this season it’s happened,” said Russell, who has failed to finish three times in 16 grands prix so far in 2026.

Lewis Hamilton has won four times in Singapore in the past and was buoyed by a drive at Sepang where he cut through the field to recover to third after starting on unsuitable dry tyres and dropping to the back.

“To finish on the podium after the way the race began feels really satisfying,” said Hamilton.

“It is a great reward for the hard work, determination and resilience everyone showed today.”

Russell won the Singapore Grand Prix in 2025, edging out Verstappen and the current world champion Lando Norris of McLaren. AFP