Max Verstappen’s boost ahead of pivotal Singapore GP in title charge
Max Verstappen was on a different podium altogether on his weekend off.
With 69 points separating him from current championship leader Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen has admitted that a shot at competing for his fifth title in a row would be “tough,” but he’s not ruling it out.
Neither are the pundits at Sky Sports F1. Former racer Jamie Chadwick and former strategist Bernie Collins have both pointed out that if any driver can overcome that kind of deficit, it would be Verstappen — particularly at a “driver track” like Singapore.
Max Verstappen gains Singapore boost in title bid
By taking back-to-back wins at the Italian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix, Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has brute-forced his way into a drivers’ championship conversation that has largely been dominated by the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri so far in 2025.
While Verstappen was able to secure two victories in the early stages of the season, the RB21 proved to be such a handful to drive that future improvement looked impossible, particularly as many teams began to turn their developmental gaze to the incoming regulations for 2026.
But Red Bull had one final upgrade ready to deploy: A new floor, which it brought to Monza. In an instant, the team’s fortune turned. And after a McLaren disaster in Baku, Verstappen was able to trim his gap to the points leader from 104 points to 69.
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“Seven race to go and it’s still 69 points,” Max Verstappen told Sky Sports F1 after Baku. “It’s a lot.”
But at no point did he completely rule out his ability to challenge for a title in the near future.
“Basically everything needs to go perfect from my side, and then a bit of luck from their side I need as well, you know,” the reigning champion said.
“It’s still very tough.”
But Sky Sports F1 pundit Jamie Chadwick was quick to point out that at no point during that statement did Verstappen rule himself out of the conversation.
“I think it’s a long shot, but it’s still a shot of some degree,” the former W Series champion declared.
“And just the last two race weekends alone, the momentum in that team is ginormous. We keep talking about momentum and how significant it is, and I’m not ruling him out.”
Further, former strategist Bernie Collins added that Singapore is “another driver track. Singapore rewards bravery, particularly in qualifying, and who better to take that on than Max?”
Speaking of momentum, Verstappen is also the only driver on the F1 grid to win a race this past weekend, while Formula 1 was off. The Dutch driver headed off to the Nurburgring for some GT racing, where he quickly proved himself to be the class of the field.
Now, that doesn’t guarantee that the Red Bull driver can take victory, nor does it promise a championship.
But it certainly does continue to build Verstappen’s confidence — something that will be all critical at the challenging Marina Bay track.
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