F1 champion Max Verstappen has 'unfinished business' ahead of Red Bull test

Singapore Grand Prix

Max Verstappen has 'unfinished business' ahead of Red Bull test

Max Verstappen has never won the Singapore GP

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 2 October 2025 08:14

Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has said that he has 'unfinished business' ahead of this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.

The reigning drivers' title holder goes into the weekend off the back of two consecutive race victories in Monza and Azerbaijan, which have given him a glimmer of hope that he can challenge for a record-equalling fifth consecutive drivers' title.

He heads to the Marina Bay Street Circuit 69 points behind McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri, and 44 points behind Lando Norris with seven events left in the season.

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However, Verstappen has never won an F1 race in Singapore, with his best result being second-place finishes in 2018 and 2024.

Across eight career grands prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Verstappen has only claimed three podiums, and has not achieved a pole position in qualifying at any of those events either.

It's a remarkable statistic given that he is a 67-time grand prix victor, and the Singapore GP is the only race on the current F1 calendar that Verstappen has not won.

The Dutchman is desperate to change that statistic this year in order to keep himself in the championship race. Speaking in his verstappen.com preview of the weekend, he said: "The last two races have been great for the team. We have made really strong progress, found a positive set up with the car and are heading in the right direction.

"Both were low downforce tracks that we performed well at and the Singapore circuit is quite different, so will be more of a test.

"It is quite a physically demanding track for all drivers and in this race it is about really getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. It is a cool street circuit to drive but, of course, I have never won there so you could say there is unfinished business.

"We need a strong team performance so I am looking forward to what the week brings."

Is the 2025 championship a three-horse race?

Much of 2025 has been dominated by the two McLaren drivers, with the team having claimed seven one-twos and being on the verge of sealing their second successive constructors' title.

It has led to the notion that this year's drivers' championship is just a two-horse race, but Verstappen has now claimed four race victories throughout 2025 and is lurking once more behind the two McLaren drivers.

He is the only one of the three F1 stars with championship-winning success, having claimed four titles already, and is likely to start getting his elbows out in battles with the two McLaren drivers as the sport approaches the season's conclusion.

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