Two races still elude Verstappen’s win tally – Madrid’s street sprint and Singapore’s Marina Bay. How long will Singapore remain Red Bull’s Achilles’ heel?
This season changed the script. In 2026 Verstappen dominated Singapore, grabbing two poles and two sprint victories. Sunday’s focus shifted to the start, a chronic Red Bull headache, yet the Dutchman held his line.
Verstappen admitted the launch was merely adequate and something felt off, so he’ll dig into the cause.
He said the clutch felt strange before release, then a few laps of deployment glitches nudged him toward Turn 7. Once the issue cleared, the car behaved.
He noted the start‑line trouble differed from recent weeks; earlier problems surfaced after clutch release, but this time they appeared earlier in the sequence.
‘I have to figure out what the engine did before I even let go of the clutch,’ he explained, adding the start was far from perfect.
Afterward he braked late on the outside, evaded the deployment hiccup and escaped his rivals, only to battle a faulty radio for the rest of the race.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
The champion could hear the team, but the messages were garbled.
Verstappen cracked, “Maybe the GP was happy it wasn’t working!”
He added, “I couldn’t really reply. He tried to ask me in code, I think he got my meaning, but it’s never pleasant. My radio’s been flaky all season, and this weekend was the worst.”
Lambiase got inventive, asking Verstappen to stay silent for a safety‑car pit stop or hit the radio button to keep track position in the final laps.
Team boss Laurent Mekies said the radio woes were purely Red Bull’s issue, unrelated to any broader Singapore technical problems.
“It isn’t the circumstances, it’s on our side,” Mekies explained on Sunday night.
“It wasn’t the same glitch as in FP1, but it hurt. These cars demand massive driver‑engineer dialogue. Still, GP found a way for Max and the team to communicate when it mattered.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
“We take it seriously, like everything else, and we’ll return with a solid fix because lost time can decide a race.”
– The Team
In my view, securing Hart was a shrewd move that could keep Red Bull’s edge.
As a thank‑you, Red Bull lifted Lambiase onto the podium with Verstappen – a surprise for the four‑time champion.
Verstappen laughed, “I didn’t see that coming. He told me in Vegas last year, ‘This might be my last podium.’ I said, ‘Don’t be silly, we’ll win more.’ Guess I jinxed myself!”
He added, “It was great they brought him up. He’s leaving, but sharing a podium on a track we haven’t won together felt special.”
Red Bull is now grooming Tom Hart to replace Lambiase as Verstappen’s race engineer. Hart was set for Williams, but the team fought to keep him after Verstappen’s internal preference.
No firm date yet for Hart’s permanent takeover; talks with McLaren about Lambiase’s exit and gardening leave suggest 2027 could be the target.
Before the handover, Hart and Verstappen will already team up in Austin, Brazil and Las Vegas, giving them valuable chemistry time.
Hart to replace Lambiase as Verstappen’s race engineer in Austin
Lambiase will still attend those events, serving as Head of Racing while Hart handles race‑engineer duties.
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