Max Verstappen builds momentum as McLaren endure difficult Singapore Saturday

Max VerstappenMax VerstappenRed Bull · Netherlands · Driver5th POS196 PTS is building significant momentum in Formula 1Formula 1 World ChampionshipInternational, and the shift in his form is reported to be troubling McLarenMcLarenUnited Kingdom3rd POS317 PTS more than Kimi Antonelli after a bad Saturday for the team in Singapore. The assessment circulating after the weekend is that Verstappen's revival now shapes the pressure on those around him. McLaren have not commented publicly on how the day went.

2026

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POS

5th

PTS

196

WINS

1

PODIUMS

8

Season 2026

What is known about Singapore

The confirmed detail is narrow. McLaren had a difficult Saturday in Singapore, and the reported mood inside the team was that nobody was happy with it. What actually went wrong — in qualifying, in preparation for the race, or elsewhere across the day — has not been set out. McLaren have offered no explanation, and no member of the team has spoken on the record about the session.

That silence matters because a poor Saturday in Formula 1 is rarely contained to one afternoon. Grid position sets the shape of a race, and a team chasing a championship cannot easily absorb a weekend that starts badly. Until McLaren say otherwise, the cause of the problem remains unknown.

Why Verstappen's form is the story

Governo do Estado de São Paulo · CC BY 2.0

Verstappen's season has turned. The reported reading is that he is now carrying real momentum, and that this has changed the picture for the teams fighting around him. Momentum is not a statistic and cannot be measured in points, but it influences how rivals approach a weekend and how much risk they are willing to carry into it.

Whether the swing is large enough to decide anything is a different question, and one the evidence does not answer. No standings, points gaps or results have been attached to the claim, which is a judgement about pressure rather than a statement of arithmetic.

Kimi Antonelli and the reported difference

Steffen Prößdorf · CC BY-SA 4.0

The same assessment suggests the revival is less of a problem for Kimi Antonelli than it is for McLaren. No explanation has been given for why the impact should differ between them, and nothing in the available material sets out where either driver stands in the championship. That gap is worth flagging rather than filling.

Confirmed and reported

• Reported: Verstappen is building major momentum at this stage of the season.
• Reported: McLaren had a bad Saturday in Singapore, and the mood within the team was unhappy.
• Reported: the swing is a bigger concern for McLaren than for Kimi Antonelli.
• Not confirmed: any race result, championship position, grid order or explanation from either team.

What happens next

The next round will test the reading. If Verstappen keeps performing at his current level and McLaren's Saturday problems carry into a race, the argument about momentum hardens. If McLaren respond quickly, Singapore becomes an isolated bad afternoon. McLaren have not said when they will address the weekend, and Verstappen has not responded to the framing of his form as a turning point.