Max Verstappen admits Red Bull lacks pace to fight Lando Norris for race victories after Singapore GP

Despite securing P2 at Singapore GP, Max Verstappen has stated that Red Bull needs to work hard to improve the car's speed.

Max Verstappen admits Red Bull lacks pace to fight Lando Norris for race victories after Singapore GP

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

Lando Norris defeated Max Verstappen by 20 seconds at the Singapore GP, repeating his dominating form from the Dutch GP. Red Bull, despite their recent struggles, performed reasonably well. However, the Milton Keynes-based team now faces a 41-point deficit in the constructors’ championship. Verstappen believes they need to bring more pace to the car to compete effectively with McLaren.

After facing multiple issues, Red Bull showed clear progress with their car in Singapore. They had their worst performance of 2023 at Marina Bay, but Max Verstappen still qualified second, just behind Lando Norris.

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The Dutchman explained that while the team improved, they still needed to work on the car’s speed during longer runs. He noted that street circuits like Singapore don’t suit the RB20 well, so a dip in performance there was somewhat expected.

FS Video
We still need to figure out the base pace. We know that, of course, this track is not ideal for us, but I think even on a normal track at this stage, we still can’t fight them so we need to bring more performance.
Max Verstappen told Formula 1

However, Verstappen pointed out that even on regular tracks, Red Bull struggles to compete with McLaren. He emphasized that the team must further improve the car’s performance to effectively challenge McLaren. If Red Bull continues to finish second to Norris, Verstappen warned that the title might start to slip away.

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Christian Horner and Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen acknowledged pace limitations quite early against Lando Norris at the Singapore GP

Max Verstappen realized at the start of the Singapore GP that his car’s pace made it nearly impossible to catch Lando Norris. Instead of trying to compete against faster drivers and risk losing positions, he chose to defend his own position. The Dutchman focused on maintaining a steady pace and keeping his momentum throughout the race, aiming to finish strong despite the challenges.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
Quite quickly I realized that it was not possible to follow and I just tried to do my own race and just keep my momentum going.
Max Verstappen explained
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Oscar Piastri [L], Lando Norris [R] (image via IMAGO)

Certainly, Singapore marked a decent performance for Max Verstappen after two consecutive races without a podium finish. However, Lando Norris’s fourth win of the season has narrowed the gap to just 52 points in the drivers’ standings. With only six rounds left, Verstappen must work hard to defend his position against the Briton to secure the championship title.