The Formula One paddock has turned its attention from the streets of Baku to the demanding challenge of Singapore. Red Bull arrive on the back of two consecutive victories, which have reignited hopes of a late-season surge. Max Verstappen’s victories have reduced his deficit in the Drivers’ Championship to 69 points and boosted morale within the Milton Keynes team.
Yet the optimism is tempered. While team advisor Helmut Marko has spoken enthusiastically about the upswing, team principal Laurent Mekies has urged caution. The Frenchman insists that Red Bull will continue to take each race as it comes, rather than focusing on the points table. “We are really taking it race by race and not looking at the standings,” he explained.
Step by step progress
Mekies acknowledged that it is ‘naturally nice’ to be part of the battle for second place in the constructors’ standings. Red Bull scored 33 points across both cars in Baku, closing the gap to Ferrari and Mercedes, with the three teams now separated by only 18 points. However, Mekies also made clear that the team must avoid being carried away by their recent success. The question remains as to whether the back-to-back wins reflect genuine progress, or if the results were shaped by track-specific factors.
This uncertainty makes Singapore a key benchmark. The Marina Bay circuit demands maximum downforce, precision in slow corners and resilience in the punishing heat. Red Bull has historically struggled there, and Mekies wants to assess how much the RB21 has improved since challenging weekends such as Budapest.
A risk-taking philosophy
Despite the caution, Red Bull are not holding back. Mekies has confirmed that the team will continue with what he describes as a ‘high-risk approach’ for the rest of the season. For Red Bull, the focus is on acquiring knowledge rather than protecting championship positions. Their willingness to experiment with different set-ups and strategies is bolstered by their recent successes, and both Verstappen and Tsunoda have demonstrated that the car can now perform well on different types of circuit.
“Confidence allows you to try more things and unlock more lap time,” explained Mekies. For Tsunoda in particular, the Baku weekend yielded his best result of the season, reinforcing the upward trend that Marko has been keen to emphasise. The fact that this progress came at a circuit so different to Monza has boosted morale.
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Impact on McLaren
The psychological effect of Red Bull’s resurgence is a matter of debate. Marko suggested that the McLaren drivers showed signs of strain in Azerbaijan, where both Norris and Piastri encountered problems. “We have to be as close as possible to make them nervous,” the Austrian advisor remarked.
However, Mekies played down the idea that Red Bull’s momentum would unsettle their rivals. He stressed that their focus is on developing their own car, and that any impact on competitors is merely a by-product. In his view, steady improvements will naturally bring them closer to McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes.
Barometer in Singapore
The Marina Bay circuit will provide a decisive test. Mekies described Singapore as “a different challenge” that will reveal whether the team’s progress is sustainable. Success there would demonstrate that Red Bull have overcome their previous weaknesses on high-downforce tracks, while failure would call into question whether their recent wins were circumstantial.
Austin and Mexico follow, both of which emphasise medium-speed corners. Mekies warned that, earlier in the year at Zandvoort, McLaren had an overwhelming pace advantage, and that even at Spa, the RB21 was around half a second off the pace. Singapore will therefore act as a measure of how far Red Bull have come and how far they still need to go.
McLaren’s true pace is unclear
The difficulty in evaluating Red Bull’s position is compounded by McLaren’s struggles in Baku. With Piastri retiring on the opening lap and Norris caught in traffic, Mekies noted that the team never truly had a chance to see McLaren’s outright speed. He stressed that Red Bull’s improvements were the result of a series of small steps rather than a single breakthrough. However, until McLaren deliver a clean race, it will be difficult to draw definitive comparisons.
When asked whether Red Bull could be considered favourites for Singapore, Mekies was reluctant to commit. He acknowledged that confidence was higher than in Budapest, but said that no one in the team could predict whether this would lead to a fight for victory. “Honestly, it is impossible to say,” he said, adding that the performance should not be as poor as at previous low points.
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Norris slammed when compared to Verstappen
While Red Bull prepare for their benchmark race in Singapore, discussion after Baku continued to focus on the performances of the McLaren drivers. Ralf Schumacher, providing analysis for Sky F1, drew a comparison between Norris and Verstappen. In his view, Verstappen would have achieved more given the circumstances than Norris did. “Yes, Max could have got more out of it in his position, but if the car isn’t running smoothly on a circuit like this, you can’t take risks and you fall behind,” said Schumacher.
He stressed that he was not dismissing Norris’s effort, but rather highlighting the difference in mentality between the two drivers. Verstappen, he said, thrives on maximising performance in any scenario, whereas Norris remains cautious when the car feels unstable. The German concluded that this experience will serve Norris well in the long run.
Piastri’s black weekend
Schumacher also assessed Oscar Piastri’s fortunes, describing them as a “black weekend”. A qualifying mistake, a false start and an ill-judged attempt at an outside overtake that ended in late braking left the Australian empty-handed. Schumacher suggested that this series of errors reflected a driver who was desperate to win but pushed beyond the limits of the situation.
For Piastri, these lessons may prove valuable as he continues to establish himself. While Norris managed to achieve a solid, if unspectacular, result, his teammate’s mistakes provided a stark contrast. The pressure on McLaren is growing, and their ability to respond to Red Bull’s resurgence and Ferrari’s consistency will define the rest of the season.
The Verstappen standard
The commentary from Schumacher ilustrates how Verstappen has become the standard by which others are judged. With multiple championships and a reputation for relentless aggression, he represents the benchmark for drivers like Norris, who are still searching for their first win. Norris’ assertion that he achieved close to the maximum possible result in Baku reveals a different mindset: one of damage limitation rather than outright domination.
For Red Bull, the next chapter will unfold under the lights of Singapore. Meanwhile, McLaren must demonstrate that Baku was an anomaly rather than a sign of pressure cracking at the surface.
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