Max in Singapore: 'You can make your own luck'

Published on 14 September 2023 by Misha van der Kroon

This weekend, the streets of Singapore will be the scene of the Singapore Grand Prix. The night race will take place at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, which highlighted by artificial light always delivers some amazing pictures. Some changes have been made to the third sector of the circuit: four corners have been removed and turned into a straight.

Max, will the new layout be an advantage for Oracle Red Bull Racing? “I don’t think it’s bad for us, but we have to wait and see how much of a difference in speed it will make on the straight.”
Apart from the adjusted layout, there is also a new technical guideline on the flexibility of wings that will come into effect this weekend. This should not have any impact on the performance of the RB19, according to Max. “I don’t think so. We never really had a flexible front wing or anything like that, so I don’t think it will affect us.”

Max has the record of ten Grand Prix victories in a row on his name. A unique record, however the Dutchman does not simply compare it with the nine victories in a row of Sebastian Vettel. Max: “Every period of dominance is different. The cars are very different now, as are the tyres. So it is difficult to compare them. I’m trying to keep this streak going for as long as possible, but there will be a day on which it will end. Street circuits are always a bigger risk and there is a lot more chaos, but we are here to win.”

To what extent did luck play a role in achieving this historic, Wikipedia-worthy record? Max answers: “You can make your own luck. I don’t think we have had a lot of luck this year, but we enforced a lot of things. We made the right calls in difficult situations. Eventually you shouldn’t think too much about that, but just drive really fast.”   

Which is what he, and the other drivers, will do this weekend, starting on Friday at 11:30 hrs local Dutch time with the first Free Practice session. When asked who he thinks will be his competitors this weekend, Max replies: “It’s difficult to predict. It can be Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin or McLaren… During the weekend I’m actually just busy getting the best out of my own car. That is the most important for me.”

Contest Singapore GP: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing Driver Cap 2023!