Max Verstappen seems virtually sure to wrap up the F1 drivers’ championship within the subsequent few races, together with his first alternative coming on the Singapore Grand Prix if he wins and title rivals Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez don’t rating closely.
Verstappen has received 11 races this season up to now, together with the final 5 in a row, and solely wants three extra victories from the remaining six races to beat the file for probably the most triumphs in a season at the moment shared by Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013).
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With Verstappen’s RB18 automotive seeking to have a transparent edge with its tyre degradation traits, there may be the chance for the Dutchman to spherical out the marketing campaign with out being overwhelmed once more.
F1 makes its first go to to Singapore since 2019 subsequent day out, earlier than making its first post-pandemic journey to Suzuka, then taking within the Circuit of the Americas, Mexico Metropolis, Interlagos and the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
Lewis Hamilton, who’s chasing his first F1 win of the season, has already admitted that it might take luck for Mercedes to beat the tempo benefit Purple Bull has proper now.
“We’ve to be real looking, that Purple Bull is nearly unbeatable,” the Mercedes driver stated after the Italian GP.
“It is going to take some actual doing to beat that automotive. Efficiency-wise they’re absolutely forward of everybody.
“We’ve not caught them, we do not have upgrades coming to overhaul them. And so it is going take some fortune going our approach.”
Purple Bull crew principal Christian Horner is extra cautious concerning the crew’s possibilities, as he reckons the number of completely different tracks developing on the calendar will make issues tough – however not unattainable.
Max Verstappen, Purple Bull Racing RB18
Photograph by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Photos
Requested by Autosport concerning the potential to win all of the remaining races of the marketing campaign, Horner stated: “That is a large ask and [there is] some enormous variance of circuits.
“Singapore in comparison with Monza, it is bought probably the most corners on the calendar. It is bumpy, it is a avenue monitor, so it is a a lot completely different problem.
“We’re in an amazing place within the championship. However we’ll assault each race and do one of the best we will, then the factors will care for themselves.
“However you recognize, we have been fast at Spa, Zandvoort, Monza and Budapest even. So on a variance of circuits, the automotive’s performing very well.”
Purple Bull’s straightline velocity benefit is not going to ship as a lot of an edge in lap time in Singapore, the place each Ferrari and Mercedes are extra assured about their possibilities.
Horner reckoned that on paper it might be maybe its most tough problem out of all of the remaining grands prix.
“It must be one of many more durable races I’d say,” he stated.
