Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 2025 Singapore GP FP1. Photo: Liauzh via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Max Verstappen arrives at Marina Bay with 72 Grand Prix wins and a fresh victory from Sepang. However, he also brings one stubborn gap. The Verstappen Singapore record reads nine starts, four podiums, no wins and no poles.
That number matters this weekend because it is not really about luck. Instead, it points to where Singapore is won, and why Red Bull’s Sepang breakthrough may or may not travel.
The Verstappen Singapore record: nine starts, zero wins
| Year | Grid | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 8th | 8th |
| 2016 | 4th | 6th |
| 2017 | 2nd | DNF (start collision) |
| 2018 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2019 | 4th | 3rd |
| 2022 | 8th | 7th |
| 2023 | 11th | 5th |
| 2024 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2025 | 2nd | 2nd |
Four of those starts came from the front row. Notably, all four were from second place, behind Sebastian Vettel (2017), Lewis Hamilton (2018), Lando Norris (2024) and George Russell (2025). As a result, he has led just three racing laps at the track in total.
What the Verstappen Singapore record reveals
Singapore is decided on Saturday more than almost anywhere else. For example, the pole-sitter has won 11 of the 16 Singapore Grands Prix, a 69% conversion rate. In addition, each of the last three races (Carlos Sainz in 2023, Norris in 2024, Russell in 2025) was won from pole.
Verstappen’s three runner-up finishes fit that pattern exactly. In 2018, 2024 and 2025 he started second and finished second, each time behind the driver who started directly ahead of him. In other words, his race pace has been good enough to hold position, but not good enough to take the lead on a street circuit where passing is scarce.
The circuit numbers explain why. Formula 1 puts the pit-lane time loss at 22.44 seconds, and the preferred strategy is a single stop. Therefore, there is little room for an undercut to change the order. The Safety Car has also appeared in about two-thirds of recent races, yet none of those interruptions has turned a Verstappen P2 into a win.
On the other hand, 2023 shows what happens when he starts out of position. Red Bull won every race that season except Singapore, after Verstappen qualified 11th and recovered to fifth. Even the most dominant car of the era could not win here from the midfield.
Why it matters this weekend
First, Red Bull arrives in its best form of 2026. Verstappen was second in Madrid, second in Baku and then took pole and the win at Sepang, as we covered in Red Bull Ford’s first win and our breakdown of the Sepang strategy.
Second, the 2025 winner will be out of the way on Sunday. Russell starts the Grand Prix from the back after his power unit change, as explained in our Singapore Grand Prix notebook. That removes one front-row rival, but it does not solve the core problem.
Still, Sepang rewards high-speed corners and straight-line speed. Marina Bay, by contrast, rewards traction and low-speed rotation, and there is only one hour of practice this weekend because of the Sprint format. Meanwhile, Norris has finished on the podium in each of the last three Singapore races.
The championship angle
Verstappen currently sits sixth in the standings on 188 points, 132 behind leader Kimi Antonelli. The title math is unforgiving: if Antonelli outscores him by 19 points or more this weekend, Verstappen is mathematically out. Consequently, a first Singapore win is the cleanest way to stay in the fight.
The bottom line
In short, Verstappen’s Singapore drought is a qualifying story, not a racecraft story. So watch Saturday’s qualifying session at 9:00 a.m. ET. If he takes pole, history says the streak is in real danger. If he lines up second again, however, history says that is probably where he will finish.
Sources: Formula 1: Need to know ahead of the 2026 Singapore GP; Grande Prêmio: Verstappen’s Singapore record; Sky Sports: Bahrain GP in Malaysia report.
Featured image: Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 2025 Singapore GP FP1. Photo: Liauzh via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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