The statistical F1 anomaly Verstappen will seek to remedy in Singapore

Winning at every grand prix venue on the regular schedule is a remarkable achievement and one Max Verstappen has in view – although he has yet to check Singapore off the list. It’s one of the most challenging tests for drivers as they cope with heat and humidity for almost two hours on a bumpy, twisting surface with the concentration required to avoid mistakes under the lights.

An error cost Verstappen a huge opportunity in 2022, but it wasn’t his mistake. Damp qualifying encouraged teams to fuel the cars for the final session and run non-stop, yet when Verstappen was on a blistering lap he was called into the pits by Red Bull, having discovered he was about to run short on the required amount of fuel.

Pole has been a vital part of success for over two thirds of the events held so far – and that error delivered Verstappen into an eighth-place start, which led to a gain of just one position on the Sunday. Red Bull nonetheless delivered at the end of the night.

Sergio Perez also gained only one place but, since he had lined up second and made a superb start to whip past Charles Leclerc, the team was able to celebrate a fourth victory at the venue to equal Mercedes and Ferrari.

Perez’s performance was one of his best wins to date; more rain on race day made it even tougher and, as the racing line dried up, the peril of stepping a few centimetres off line when being hustled by Leclerc was immense.

On top of that, a five-second penalty for Perez towards the end of the race for a safety-car infringement meant he had to push hard in the closing stages and he built just over seven seconds from Leclerc to hold on. Having taken one podium finish in the previous six races that year, while Verstappen had won five of them, suddenly Perez had delivered a superb result and that memory may be giving him the boost he needs yet again.

Perez overcame the wet and late penalty to beat Leclerc in Singapore in 2022

Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images

Red Bull’s three previous wins on the Marina Bay streets were by Sebastian Vettel, who remains the most successful driver in Singapore to date. His total of five triumphs is also backed up by the biggest climb from the back of the grid, going from 22nd to fifth in 2016 with Ferrari. His last F1 victory, in 2019, came at the same track, in a race that looked to be heading the way of Ferrari team-mate Leclerc.

That was another weekend when Leclerc was unable to convert his pole position into a race win and yet he did nothing wrong. Overtaking on the three-mile track is always difficult and emphasises the importance of pitstops and their strategic timing.

Leclerc did everything right from the start, leading into Turn 1 and monitoring his pace to look after tyres and keeping Lewis Hamilton behind. Vettel was running third and Ferrari thought it was taking a risk with the German by going for a relatively early pitstop to protect his position, but actually the speed on fresh tyres the four-time world champion then enjoyed allowed him to be ahead of Leclerc after both had pitted.

If Verstappen can achieve his first pole in Singapore, he has every chance of hitting the 100% mark of winning at every region that has been on the calendar since 2022

Unlike McLaren in Hungary this year, the team didn’t ask for a swap - despite Leclerc losing out - and therefore Vettel took a key win. So Leclerc, like Verstappen, is a driver with huge incentive in Singapore.

Missing out on the front row in 2023 by 0.079s to team-mate Carlos Sainz and 0.007s to George Russell led to the team asking him to contribute to Sainz’s chances by starting on soft tyres, unlike most of those around him. He grabbed second off the line, then monitored those behind to protect Sainz. Leclerc missed out on the podium, but Sainz claimed Ferrari’s fourth win in the Singapore.

Four wins seems to be a key number; it’s the same for Hamilton, who took three with Mercedes to add to his first at this location with McLaren in 2009, the team’s one and only so far. So much of the narrative that weekend was dominated by the story of the previous year’s race tactics and the departure of Flavio Briatore from his managerial role at Renault.

Piquet Jr's crash at Singapore in 2008 has gone down in infamy

Photo by: Sutton Images

Briatore was identified as a prime mover in the order for Nelson Piquet Jr to crash out and cause a safety car period, which went on to allow team-mate Fernando Alonso to win the race. Briatore’s return, 15 years later, as Alpine team principal coincides with McLaren’s return to race-winning form at last; perhaps it might now add to its tally here.

While Alonso won that first Singapore GP from the lowest grid position of anybody so far by starting 15th on the grid, in more typical racing conditions here qualifying up front is crucial. Earlier this season Verstappen added another new success to his list when he took pole and won the Chinese GP for the first time in his career.

If he can achieve his first pole in Singapore, he has every chance of hitting the 100% mark of winning at every region that has been on the calendar since 2022.

Can Verstappen tick off a win at every F1 venue on the calendar by taking his first Singapore success?

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool