Verstappen aims to cut out the chaos at Singapore GP

Stalling on the start line in his rookie year, 2015 gave Max Verstappen his first indication that the Marina Bay Street Circuit may be his trickiest nut to crack in F1.

- KIERAN JACKSON FORMULA 1 CORRESPONDENT

A decade ago, the 18-year-old, driving for Red Bull's sister team, Toro Rosso, stormed back to eighth from a lap down before defiantly screaming “No!” to his team when asked to let teammate Carlos Sainz past. It's fair to say we've seen numerous instances of noncompliance a fair few times in the years since.

Two years on, Verstappen would be sandwiched between two Ferraris and powerless to a collision with Kimi Raikkonen, in F1's first-ever wet race at night, which brought about one of the most chaotic start procedures in recent history. In 2022, a fuel quantity mishap in qualifying ruined the Dutchman's weekend, while a year on, Singapore was the only race Red Bull failed to win amid an otherwise peerless F1 campaign. Verstappen couldn't even finish on the podium, having to settle for fifth.

And so to 2025: a year in which Verstappen has emerged from a position of nothingness to an outside contender for the world championship. Back-to-back victories in Monza and Baku, alongside Oscar Piastri's crash last time out, mean the gap to the championship leader now stands at 69 points, with seven rounds and 199 points remaining. A sizeable deficit, sure, but no longer one completely insurmountable.