“That’s what happens when the car is cruising two seconds ago in front of you. That’s what’s been noticed. I remember as well.” Max Verstappen wasn’t happy with the end of the qualifying round. Randnoris slowly returned to the pit after the final lap, feeling negatively affected in the final sector.
Norris drove early, a sign of McLaren’s plight facing challenges from outside threats, with Verstappen being the last car on the road, finishing in just 0.02 seconds on George Russell’s pole time.
The complaints from Verstappen were out of the way of sympathy when Norris heard.
“They’re complaining all the time. They’re complaining about everything,” Norris said. “It’s Red Bull. I didn’t know either. I was three seconds away or something. I can’t solve that either.”
It was hardly a war of words, but it was a touch of needles between two drivers that we can more and more explain.
As McLaren is in defensive mode like Baku, Norris first went out on his final Q3 run to avoid potential yellow or red flags. Just as it is, he couldn’t improve at the fifth place on the grid.
In contrast, Red Bull can afford to be much more aggressive. With Verstappen 69 points ahead of Oscar Piastri and Norris drifting at 44, it is essential to outweigh McLaren, and in the car and the serious deficit to overcome, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain. So Verstappen was the last on the road and risked his final lap being interrupted in exchange for the potential rewards of the best truck evolution.
As Norris remains his closest threat and begins two positions over his teammate, Piastri went just before Verstappen and was satisfied. But he was behind Red Bull drivers again on the truck where Red Bull was not sure Red Bull was competitive.
“The last three weekends were really, really great now,” Verstappen said. “Up to that point, we were constantly throwing the setup left and right, as we were constantly throwing the setup left and right. Sometimes we had a weekend when it was okay, but now the last three weekends, it was solid.
“We’ve just been tweaking. That’s what you want throughout the weekend. Of course, some layouts will be a little better for us. There are probably a little more difficult ones, but the car’s foundations are more solid and I think it’s something you need.”
Verstappen warned on Thursday that Zandvoort, the last high-downforce circuit, was not promising for Red Bull. But so far, this weekend, all the evidence is from a package that allows McLaren to beat last year’s Norris-controlled truck.
Team principal Andrea Stella has had many factors that have recently created a rough path for McLaren. Sam Bloxham/Getty Images
According to McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella, that competitive change occurred due to a combination of factors, including MCL39’s weaknesses.
“Our reflections are more common in terms of our competitiveness, and that relates generally to the fact that we think there were some cars faster than us, especially Mercedes and Red Bull,” Stella said. “And it seems we’re in Baku and observing the patterns we were in Singapore. It’s similar to what we saw in Canada. And we weren’t the best cars in Canada when we were braking on bumps and curbs. It wasn’t the best cars in Baku.
“So, from a technical standpoint, this is not an overall surprise, but because you know what conditions to develop your car. It’s actually important information and you can include those conditions even considering how you can develop your car better.
“(Singapore) is dominated by brakes and traction, and it seems the bumps and curbs are suffering a bit. So, through the qualifying rounds, through the events, Mercedes was making comments that there was a condition to bring together a highly competitive sector, with drivers making comments that it didn’t resemble Baku’s and Canadian’s comments.
Stella also sees the field closed at the forefront due to an update raised by rival teams in the recent round, and McLaren’s program was previously completely off.
“We had very few parts that Monza had, if any, but otherwise we’ve been focusing on 2026 for a long time, but some competitors have brought some new upgrades to the trackside and Red Bull is certainly one of them,” Stella said.
“There was a new front wing here, and a new floor in Monza. We had to wait for some races on low-down forces (tracks) like Monza and Baku, which we also need to identify that there is a pattern from a technical standpoint.
“There’s certainly the fact that we haven’t developed cars in a long time and some truck features. That being said, Austin still has tight corners in many brake areas, so I hope it will be a bit of a struggle for us.
“We could have gotten better on a few other circuits, perhaps early in the season, when there were a few more advantages, but like I said, some competitors continue to develop cars or have a better understanding of how to use cars, so now the field is even more competitive.”
Despite these factors, the Italians are meant to not let it be a burden on his team, despite the fact that Stella believes McLaren will increase pressure from Verstappen for the rest of the season.
“It’s interesting for everyone to see what Red Bull can do on a circuit like this for a number of reasons,” he said. “One thing is that they’re very competitive in Monza, very competitive, then competitive in Baku and “Let’s see if this depends on the use of low levels of drag, small rear wings. And the second reason is that they may have struggled a bit in the past here in Singapore.
“Well, the evidence that they may have resolved both these high drag and Singapore factors is no surprise. It’s Red Bull, they’re very capable, Max is a driver who is Max Verstappen, I don’t think we need to comment further.
“Obviously, I want to bore Formula 1. I’ve done it from time to time in some events, but usually Formula 1 is competitive. It’s tough. You have to accept the fight. That’s what we’re doing.”
There is a positive outlook for now, but in the heat of Singapore on Sunday nights, Stella needs to ensure that the McLaren team stays cool and cool amid Verstappen’s challenge. There’s even more dents when it comes to Piastri’s leads and the momentum really changes.