Max Verstappen expressed relief after believing he had "jinxed" himself following a conversation with long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase at the end of last year's Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Lambiase joined Verstappen on the podium following the four-time F1 champion's victory around the street circuit.
Around that time, it is understood that Lambiase was already aware he would be leaving Red Bull for McLaren, even though an official announcement was not made until April this year.
The duo were reunited on the podium again following Verstappen's victory at the 10th time of asking around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, a situation which came as a complete surprise to the Dutch driver.
"Yeah, I didn't expect that," said Verstappen, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365.
"I remember he said to me last year in Vegas, 'This might be the last time I'm on the podium'
"I said, 'Ah, don't be silly. We're going to win much more', but yeah, I almost jinxed myself there, I guess.
"It was just super nice they sent him up. Of course, we all know that he is leaving, but it was very special to share the podium here on a track where we had not won together, so very nice to see him up there."
Verstappen - 'It's been bad this season'
It was a routine lights-to-flag win for Verstappen after he held off the dual threat of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton off the line.
Over the 62 laps, there was only one glitch for Verstappen to contend with, and that was his radio. Whilst he could hear Lambiase, his responses were garbled.
It led to Lambiase needing to operate with code to get the required messages across to his driver.
"Maybe he was happy that it was not working," joked Verstappen on Lambiase. "I couldn't really say anything.
"He did try at one point to ask me a few things in code, and I think he understood well what I meant or did not do.
"But it's never nice. I've had difficulty with my radio the whole season, and this weekend has been particularly bad."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix! Max Verstappen's Marina Bay masterclass is a lead talking point, as is F1's deadline approaching to make a call on how the 2026 season will end.
Rather watch this podcast? Then Click here!
Most read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!