Singapore will test whether Red Bull can carry its Sepang gains forward

After his first Grand Prix win of 2026 at Sepang, Max Verstappen heads to Singapore, where Red Bull faces a different test. Before the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix, he had never won at Marina Bay despite four podiums: second in 2018, 2024 and 2025, and third in 2019. The race is scheduled for October 11.

Team principal Laurent Mekies said Red Bull expected Singapore to suit the RB22 better, chiefly because of its relative strength in slower corners. He said the team had struggled against rivals in medium- and high-speed corners earlier in the season, and cited Monaco and Baku as examples of its slower-corner form. Mekies also described performance gains at Monza, Madrid, Baku and Malaysia.

Mekies qualified that optimism: he said Sepang’s extreme heat, rough asphalt and layout may have pushed most cars outside their ideal operating windows and affected the competitive order. He also said it was difficult to assess Red Bull’s rivals in Singapore. Verstappen was more guarded, saying the Sepang win depended on that circuit’s characteristics and that Red Bull would have to see how it performed in Singapore.

Analysis: Sepang and Marina Bay demand different strengths. Sepang rewards speed, efficiency and aerodynamic stability; Marina Bay places more weight on traction, mechanical grip, kerb behavior, predictable low-speed handling and braking. The Sepang victory points to progress, but it does not answer how Red Bull’s update package will work on a high-downforce street circuit.

Baku offers only a partial comparison. Mekies points to Red Bull’s relative strength in its slow corners, while the RB22 was stronger in Baku’s high-speed sectors than in the twisty second sector. Those are different yardsticks: one compares Red Bull with its rivals in slow corners, the other compares parts of a single circuit. Baku’s long straights also allow less downforce than Marina Bay. Singapore will show whether the RB22 can turn its recent progress into grip and predictable handling at low speed.