That Max Verstappen has a rather short fuse is something that everyone in the world seems to be clear about. paddock The FIA’s top brass couldn’t have chosen a worse time to lash out at the reigning champion, who is more vulnerable than ever because of the car he drives and the verve with which his rivals, especially McLaren, are arriving. After two seasons in which they have been on the roll with the Dutchman at the wheel, Red Bull is on the ropes, an impression that goes beyond recent numbers and statistics. Verstappen has not won for exactly three months, since Montmeló. A drought that is very illustrative of the disorientation that the Red Buffalo team has been going through, disoriented since the start of the season; first because of the scandal that almost cost its director Christian Horner his job; and then because of the flight of some key elements of its structure, such as Adrian Newey or Jonathan Wheatley, the person responsible for track operations.
In Singapore, Lando Norris again denied the three-time champion victory after finally taking advantage of the pole which he had claimed on Saturday. In the train of magic that this calendar event normally becomes, the Briton put more than 20 seconds on Verstappen (second) to score his third victory of this year. This one, with total authority, given that he achieved it after leading all the laps. Oscar Piastri finished third despite starting fifth; Carlos Sainz was seventh and Fernando Alonso, eighth.
Apart from all of the above, there are other, less relevant but equally significant, indicators that show that the confidence that Red Bull had a year ago is no longer to be found. A few months ago, the energy team wanted to involve its followers and invited them to send the designs of the decorations with which they would like the cars of Verstappen and Checo Pérez to race this weekend, in Singapore, and in Austin, in a month. However, a few days ago it withdrew the initiative, arguing that this repaint could mean adding a kilo to the car, an excess weight that at the moment cannot be allowed, given that the RB20 is no longer the reference on the grid.
In this context, with Norris reducing the points gap that separates him from the lead that he still holds Mad Max —now 52 points—, it is more than understandable that the Hasselt-born driver is not in the mood for “nonsense”. This is how he, and most of his rivals, defined the conflict that broke out these days on the Marina Bay circuit, due to the “vulgar and inappropriate” language used by Verstappen in the public conference on Thursday, in which he defined as “fucking (fucked)”, the prototype he had to drive the previous Sunday in Baku, where he finished fifth, after being ostensibly slower than his teammate Checo Pérez all weekend. In response to this insult, the FIA, which has clearly taken a position against this type of demonstration, penalized him with the obligation to carry out community service. In the televised press conference after qualifying, in which he finished second, Verstappen limited himself to answering in monosyllables in protest, and then challenged the championship’s legislative body by organizing an alternative appearance, with all the press displaced, in which he did duly answer the journalists’ questions.
