Max Verstappen admits he has “unfinished business” in Singapore, and the Red Bull driver is making no secret of his desire to finally add the Marina Bay race to his long list of Grand Prix victories.
Verstappen has stood on the Singapore podium before but has never taken the top step, with second-place finishes in 2018, 2024 and 2025 his best results.
After finally ending his long wait for a victory this season with a commanding triumph at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, however, the four-time world champion arrives in Singapore, his 250th F1 Grand Prix, with renewed belief – if not misplaced confidence.
Red Bull’s improved form at Sepang suggested the team could become a more regular threat at the front during the remaining seven rounds. But Verstappen knows Singapore will present a very different test.
Verstappen still chasing Marina Bay breakthrough
The Marina Bay circuit has historically exposed some of Red Bull’s weaknesses, particularly when it comes to extracting performance from low-speed corners and coping with the bumps and kerbs.
Verstappen expects those characteristics to remain a concern despite the progress made with this year’s car.
“We're going to try, that's for sure. It's always complicated on a street circuit, a lot of things have to come together,” Verstappen said when asked why the Singapore street circuit has always been an Achilles' heel for Red Bull.
“In the last few years, we've always been bad in low speed and just kerb riding, taking the bumps. This year's car is probably more competitive in low-speed corners, but we still struggle on bumps and kerbs. We know that.
“So, of course, I have unfinished business here when you have not won the race yet. Actually every year I come back and I'm trying to win it, but we also need to be realistic.
“But I hope that we can be, let's say, a little bit more competitive this year, compared to the last few years.”
That balance between ambition and realism is important for Verstappen.
His Malaysian victory was a significant breakthrough after a difficult opening stretch to 2026, but one win has not suddenly transformed Red Bull into the dominant force it was during his championship-winning campaigns.
For now, Verstappen wants to build rather than predict.
“I just want to try and see if we can carry this momentum and try to be in a position again to win potentially,” he said. “I don't know if that's here or in another race.
“We have won one race finally and then we also need to stay with two feet on the ground and keep working because I'm sure that it's not always going to be like this now until the end of the season. Step by step we try to be better and next year is a completely different story.”
Hadjar savours Red Bull’s breakthrough
Red Bull's Sepang weekend could have been even more significant had Isack Hadjar managed to convert his strong pace into a second podium alongside Verstappen.
Instead, a late battery problem dropped the Frenchman to fifth, although the result still capped an impressive weekend – and marked the first Formula 1 victory for Red Bull Ford Powertrains.
Hadjar insists the team will not simply forget what happened in Malaysia, even as its attention turns immediately towards Singapore.
“To be honest, it's still an ongoing analysis, but at the same time, I don't think whatever happened in Malaysia is going to impact us heading into Singapore,” he explained.
“But still, I'm not the type of guy who just moves on anyway, ‘ah, the race is finished’. I want everything to be understood and, even if now I'm focused on Singapore, I am happy to then come back into a bit more details.”
Hadjar's progress has been particularly striking given how far Red Bull appeared to be from the front earlier in the season. The Frenchman credits the team's development curve for bringing it into contention.
“[When] we started in Melbourne, I was like nine-tenths behind Mercedes in third. And then we kind of went downhill, so at some point we were even further away from the leaders, and from then we kind of managed to reach decent results, had some form, average form,” he said.
“I would say it was kind of a plateau for a bit of the European period, and then that final upgrade kind of put us in contention, and also you have Max in the car so it kind of helps.
“It's great to have a Red Bull power unit win a race. They've been doing that for only four years and they won an F1 race already, so it's impressive.”
For Verstappen, though, the immediate target is personal. He has conquered almost every challenge Formula 1 has thrown at him, but Singapore remains one conspicuous omission.
And with Red Bull finally showing signs of life, the Dutchman sees no reason not to have another crack at it.
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