Singapore GP talking points: McLaren's response to Max Verstappen's surge, Ferrari friction after Baku
The 2025 F1 season continues this weekend in Singapore; Max Verstappen's resurgence and how McLaren will respond to their worst round of the season are among the main talking points; watch every session of the Singapore Grand Prix from October 3-5, live on Sky Sports F1
Tuesday 30 September 2025 06:08, UK
After McLaren endured their worst weekend of the year in Azerbaijan, the Formula 1 season returns in Singapore with several fresh unknowns in play.
Is Verstappen back in the title race?
The big debate since Max Verstappen's win in Baku, his second in a row, has been whether the Dutchman is back in with a genuine chance of claiming a fifth successive drivers' title.
His hopes appeared to be over when McLaren picked up where they'd left off before the summer break in Zandvoort as Oscar Piastri won to stretch his advantage over third-placed Verstappen to 104 points.
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However, Red Bull brought upgrades to the Italian Grand Prix that appear to have changed the game, and Verstappen's wins in Monza and Azerbaijan combined with a third place and DNF for Piastri have brought the gap between them down to 69 points with seven rounds remaining.
Verstappen has little margin for error if he's going to apply serious pressure to Piastri and his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, who trails the Australian by 25 points, but this weekend's race in Singapore promises to be particularly enlightening.
Red Bull and Verstappen have, relatively speaking, struggled in Singapore. He has never won there and has claimed just three podiums in eight appearances at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Should he find a way to extend his winning streak to three race, alarm bells will be well and truly ringing at McLaren.
Can Piastri and Norris bounce back?
On the other side of the coin, if McLaren can rediscover the form that saw them seal four successive one-twos before the summer break, focus will swiftly shift back to the battle between Piastri and Norris, especially if the latter can reduce the gap for a third successive race.
However, the question is not just whether McLaren can deliver their drivers the fastest car in Singapore, but also whether Piastri and Norris will take advantage of it after an error-filled weekend in Baku.
Piastri was completely out of sorts, crashing out of qualifying to leave himself ninth on the grid, before jumping the start of the ace and then shunting into the barriers once more on the opening lap to end the weekend pointless.
Norris failed to capitalise as an underwhelming lap after Piastri's qualifying crash left him seventh on the grid, before a couple of early lapses in concentration and another bungled McLaren pit stop prevented him from improving on his starting position.
The Brit has shown his ability to bounce back from tough moments on several occasions, but Piastri has been so consistent this season that he hasn't had to respond to any major adversity since his spin in the wet at the opening round in Australia.
All eyes will therefore be on the 24-year-old, with a second successive race at a street circuit ensuring even the smallest of mistakes could have devastating consequences.
Will McLaren get over the line in style?
It would appear that only more contact between the papaya cars and the barriers could prevent McLaren from sealing the Constructors' Championship this weekend.
They missed the chance in Azerbaijan to better Red Bull's record for winning the title with the most races remaining, but will surely tie that mark this time around.
Mercedes must outscore McLaren by at least 31 points to stay in mathematical contention, while Ferrari need to outscore them by 35 points.
Regardless of how they get over the line, McLaren chiefs Zak Brown and Andrea Stella will celebrate the brilliant achievement with gusto, but there is little doubt that a strong result will make for a more carefree party on Sunday night.
Can Tsunoda save his F1 career?
Yuki Tsunoda had his best weekend in a Red Bull as the Japanese driver qualified and finished sixth in Baku, but he's running out of time to preserve his place in F1 for 2026.
Rumours have been rife that Red Bull are planning to promote Isack Hadjar to the senior team and replace the Frenchman at Racing Bulls with British teenager Arvid Lindblad.
Hadjar's form has been such that he'd have to endure an extremely poor end to the season to dissuade the team's hierarchy from giving him a chance alongside Verstappen next year.
It's therefore not a Red Bull seat that Tsunoda is fighting for at this point, but rather just any seat in F1.
The problems with his season-best performance in Baku were that he was still comprehensively outperformed by Verstappen, and also edged out by Hadjar's Racing Bulls team-mate Liam Lawson for fifth place.
If the rumours are true and Lindblad is set for a promotion from F2 to F1, Lawson and Tsunoda would appear to be in a straight battle for the other Racing Bulls seat.
Should Tsunoda miss out, there aren't any other obvious options on the 2026 grid. Alpine have yet to confirm Pierre Gasly's team-mate for next year, but Flavio Briatore has suggested the driver will come from their current pool of talent.
For Tsunoda to convince either Racing Bulls or another team that he merits a seat, the Baku result is going to need to be built on rather than be a highlight of a disappointing campaign.
Happy families at Ferrari after switch controversy?
Thankfully for Ferrari, McLaren's struggles took the attention off another hugely underwhelming weekend for the Italian team after they had appeared to be in contention for pole position throughout much of practice.
A horrendous qualifying left Lewis Hamilton 12th and Charles Leclerc 10th on the grid, and the difficult of overtaking on Sunday left them eighth and ninth at the chequered flag.
They did still manage to generate some controversy, as Hamilton failed to follow an order to give eighth back to Leclerc on the final lap after the Monegasque had let him through to attack the cars in front a few laps earlier.
Hamilton said he had made a mistake and that he would apologise to his team-mate, while Leclerc expressed frustration at the incident but also insisted the fact it was only for eighth meant he wasn't that bothered.
It would be a surprise if anything other than a united front is presented in Singapore, where Ferrari will sense an opportunity to pounce at a circuit where a strong qualifying showing can set up a big result.
The 2025 Formula 1 title fight continues under the lights at the Singapore Grand Prix on October 3-5, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
