Martin Brundle says Max Verstappen sounds ‘exactly’ like Ayrton Senna with ‘rent-free’ Singapore comment

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Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen is keeping the pressure on both McLaren drivers in the championship with six race weekends to go.

Max Verstappen has finished ahead of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at each of the last three races, and reduced the gap to the top of the drivers’ championship to 63 points.

It still seems very unlikely that Verstappen will overturn the deficit, but Red Bull have kept bringing small updates to races while McLaren have switched their full attention to F1’s upcoming rule changes in 2026.

Verstappen has proven over the past few years that he’s the fastest driver on the grid, but since McLaren’s leap forward halfway through last year, he’s not been in the most competitive car.

McLaren admitted that they’re worried about Red Bull’s progress, but have at least already wrapped up the constructors’ championship.

It would take a mammoth effort from Verstappen to leapfrog both McLaren drivers before the end of the season, and some of the upcoming tracks are likely to be less suited to his Red Bull even after its recent upgrades.

Martin Brundle, however, believes Verstappen is starting to channel his inner Ayrton Senna, and thinks that could play a key role in this year’s title fight.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Martin Brundle was reminded of Ayrton Senna by Max Verstappen at the Singapore Grand Prix

Brundle was speaking about Verstappen ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix on Sky Sports F1 (5/10 12:18 pm), and he explained: “I think Max, because he’s so aggressive, especially when he finds some grip that others don’t believe is there in the first few corners of the opening lap.

“I think he sort of lives in their heads rent-free, a little bit, because they don’t know what he’s going to do next. And that is entirely intentional.

“It’s exactly what Ayrton Senna used to do, and people like that. Michael Schumacher was another one.

“Whether it was Formula 3 or Formula 1, Ayrton would steam up the inside of you and leave you to decide whether you wanted to crash on that day in history or not.”

It was then put to Jenson Button that Russell has proved to be one of the only drivers who has stood up to Verstappen, and he continued: “Yeah, he has, and he’s also the one to point out when other people haven’t quite a few times this year, especially with Oscar and Max.”

READ MORE: All to know about Ayrton Senna including Alain Prost rivalry and Imola crash

How Lando Norris rattled Max Verstappen’s camp at the Singapore Grand Prix

Piastri has looked unshakable for much of this season, but his calamitous weekend in Baku was followed up by some irate radio messages in Singapore.

David Coulthard believed Piastri had a case when he complained on the team radio about Norris barging into him after he nudged Verstappen’s car on the opening lap.

The Australian’s complaints fell on deaf ears, and a slow pit stop compounded his issues.

Norris seems to be making more of an impact on his rivals away from the track than before in his efforts to win a first F1 championship.

Verstappen’s camp weren’t happy with one comment Norris made in Singapore about the Dutchman’s racing DNA.

Senna was an incredible racer, and his aggressiveness made him extremely difficult to fight on track.

Verstappen is very much cut from the same cloth, and his understanding of the racing regulations makes him very hard to beat in wheel-to-wheel combat.

He’ll be hoping Norris and Piastri have a couple of their own Senna and Alain Prost moments between now and Abu Dhabi to swoop in and win his fifth title.