Max Verstappen's return will be tested in Marina Bay as he aims to overcome his disappointment at the Singapore Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver will have to cope with both weather conditions and his poor statistics on the street circuit of Marina Bay.
The relaxed Verstappen secured his first win of the season at the wide and fast Sepang track during the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday. However, the race was postponed by an hour and a half following a chaotic start lap when cars, including Verstappen's, stopped due to a software glitch in the wet conditions setup.
Verstappen noted: 'It was madness. At one point we were driving in a pack of five on the straight because we couldn't understand what was happening. I saw eight cars crawling, and Lewis (Hamilton) stopped. That's not what you want for the sport.'
Potential impact of weather on Singapore
Rain could play a role again in the tropical city-state, as thunderstorms are forecast, which may affect both the sprint race on Saturday and the qualifying and night Grand Prix on Sunday.
Verstappen has never won on the winding street circuit of Marina Bay, where extreme heat and humidity play a role, making this race the most physically demanding of the season and a known overtaking-difficult venue.
During the longest race on the calendar, drivers can lose up to three kilograms of weight. Finishing 62 hot laps often takes a maximum of two hours of permitted race time.
The floor update, combined with Verstappen finally achieving the best result from the new generation car, allowed him to call his performance in Sepang 'amazing' four days ago.
Championship situation
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli took second place in Mercedes and is likely to continue fighting for the title. He benefited from another setback of his teammate and main title rival George Russell, who was 'extremely disappointed' after a grueling power unit failure while running third with five laps to go in Malaysia.
Russell commented on the situation: 'You can almost laugh... it just happened so many times this season.' He failed to finish in 16 of the 2026 season's Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton had won in Singapore four times previously and was encouraged by his performance in Sepang, where he broke through the peloton to climb to third place after starting on unsuitable dry tires and falling to the back of the grid.
Hamilton stated: 'Finishing on the podium after the race started is very pleasing. It is a great reward for the hard work, determination, and resilience that everyone showed today.'
Russell won the Singapore Grand Prix last year, beating Verstappen and reigning world champion Lando Norris of McLaren.