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Max Verstappen highlighted the "bit of luck" that he needs from McLaren to have a shot at winning his fifth consecutive World Championship this season. He recently managed to narrow down the gap at the top to just 69 points after winning the race in Baku.
However, with just seven races remaining, it seems to be a difficult target to achieve, considering how dominantly McLaren has delivered throughout the season. Oscar Piastri still leads the championship; however, his position was affected after crashing out in Baku, with Verstappen capitalizing on the opportunity.
Heading into Singapore next, Verstappen highlighted that the track is quite different from Monza and Azerbaijan, which could make it difficult for Red Bull to win.
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"I think it’s just a combination of a lot of things that are going better in the last few weeks, so we understood a bit more about the car," Verstappen said (via F1). "Of course it’s two low-downforce tracks, so we have to wait and see how we are going to perform again on a high-downforce track."
"But for now we’re just very happy with what we’re doing, and then we’ll just find out [at] the upcoming races how that will go on other kinds of layouts."
Max Verstappen further explained that he would need to clinch the maximum points in all remaining races and would need a "bit of luck" from McLaren to clinch the title.
"Basically everything needs to go perfectly from my side, and then a bit of luck from their side I need as well, so it’s still very tough."
However, the challenge is only expected to get more difficult for the Dutchman as Formula 1 heads into Singapore, considering Red Bull's performance on the track in recent years.
Why a dominant performance in Singapore could set the tone of the remaining season for Max Verstappen
The Marina Bay Circuit on the current Formula 1 calendar is the only race that Max Verstappen has yet to mark a victory at. There have been multiple reasons why he never managed to conquer the track, with recent years being particularly tough for Red Bull.
The 2023 season, which was the most dominant season by a team in F1 history, also marked a loss for the team as Ferrari won that year. The issues for RBR lie within the track's layout and overall nature. In 2023, for example, the team had to run a car with increased ride height to address the bumping issue on straights, which could have led to more plank wear on the car.
If Max Verstappen manages to deliver a strong result on the track this year, particularly if he wins, it could indicate that Red Bull has optimized their car well and will yield positive results. Team advisor Helmut Marko also hinted at the same in an earlier interview.
"But we’ll see. If we’re competitive in Singapore in two weeks’ time, maybe we can start dreaming [about Max Verstappen's title this year]," Marko told De Telegraaf "Not only is it a different circuit, but it’s also boiling hot. Our car doesn’t always like that either. Singapore will be the benchmark for where we really stand. And we’ve always said: we have to be as close as possible to McLaren to make them nervous."
The field is set for Max Verstappen and Red Bull to take on one of their most challenging tracks. Oscar Piastri also expects McLaren to have a strong performance in Singapore, which could head towards a strong battle in the race.
