Three-time World Champion Max Verstappen has been in Formula 1 since he was only 17 years of age. The Dutchman has seen immense success ever since his debut in the pinnacle of motorsports as a part of Red Bull‘s sister team Toro Rosso in 2015. His steady rise stole the attention of Red Bull’s authoritative figures who decided he should replace Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull midway through the 2016 season. And thus started the long saga of success with Max Verstappen and Red Bull partnership.

As of now, Max Verstappen is the proud owner of three F1 World titles and he has also been the leading force in Red Bull getting two World Constructors’ Championship titles as well. Max looks well on his way towards achieving legend status amongst his Austrian team members since he has brought back the glory that Red Bull enjoyed when Sebastian Vettel had been a part of their squad. Owing to his winning streak since 2021, Max Verstappen has seen resounding victories at various F1 circuits all around the world. But still, there are some Grand Prix host countries that have not yet been witness of the Verstappen effect.

Max Verstappen won his first-ever race in 2016 at the Spanish GP at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Since then, he has won 53 more races in the pinnacle of motorsports. Last year, Max scripted history with 19 Grand Prix wins out of the 22 races that were held. But the three circuits (which will host Grands Prix in 2024) that have remained immune to Max and his racing prowess are the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore, the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar, and the Shanghai International Circuit in China.

Max Verstappen’s Singapore GP outing turned out to be his biggest blunder in 2023

When Max Verstappen stepped into the Singapore GP weekend with his Red Bull entourage, his entire fanbase was expecting yet another resounding victory since he had already won all but two of the races leading up to the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. But the incidents that unfolded in the South Asian City were not how the Verstappen army would have preferred. Max Verstappen could not even seize a podium finish at the Singapore GP and his rival from Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, took full advantage of the situation.

Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

The Ferraris had not been having a great time on the racetracks due to Charles Leclerc’s frequent on-track mistakes and the poor reliability of Carlos Sainz’s SF-23. But still, going into the Singapore GP, Carlos Sainz looked quite strong as he defeated Max Verstappen during the very first Free Practice session there. During FP2, Sainz led the entire F1 pack and in FP3, he was once again the leader. Carlos Sainz qualified in pole position at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and converted his pole to a race win successfully, surpassing McLaren’s Lando Norris who came second and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who came third.