Verstappen: This will be a real battle!

      Max Verstappen hopes to fight with Mercedes for second place in the Constructors' Championship...

      Question: George Russell believes that if you had led into the first corner, you would have won. Do you agree with him?

      Max Verstappen: Yes, I think so too. It's very difficult to overtake here. But I didn't get into the lead in the first corner. We knew the inside line had much worse grip. For some reason it was even worse than last year, which is a bit frustrating.

      I already knew on Saturday that it would be hard to hold the position if we started on the same tyres as the rivals, so, partly because of the light rain, we chose Softs in the hope of fighting for the lead at the start. When we couldn't lead the race, we had to save the tyres, stretching their life to the right lap for a pit stop.

      I think at the finish my tyres were about six to seven laps older than George's and Lando's. So yes, it wasn't easy. Also, throughout the race I had big difficulties with gear changes — both downshifts and upshifts — which didn't help. And the balance wasn't quite what I wanted. In this situation, second place was the best we could hope for.

      Even with a better balance, if you're second into the first corner in Singapore, you wouldn't have been able to move up. It's always like that here. When nothing extraordinary happens, when no unexpected opportunities to improve your position arise, you finish where you started.

      Question: How do you assess the team's progress in working with the car?

      Max Verstappen: We've made great gains in recent races. Some of our decisions over the weekend need to be reviewed again before the next races. It's nothing dramatic — we're not at a loss to explain why the pace was a bit worse than we'd like, there are just some things we need to analyse so we can perform better next weekend.

      Question: You've been on the podium four races in a row. How confident are you that Red Bull can fight Mercedes and Ferrari for second in the Constructors' Championship, given you're only 10 points behind Ferrari and 35 behind Mercedes?

      Max Verstappen: 35 points is quite a lot. I wanted to win in Singapore, then it would have been a bit easier. But we'll certainly try. It's going to be a real battle! It's hard to claw back when Mercedes wins and you finish second, but we'll try.