Rosberg states Red Bull ‘scared’ of McLaren

2016 F1 world champion Nico Rosberg has suggested Red Bull will be “scared” of McLaren following its display at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Lando Norris took pole position ahead of Max Verstappen by two-tenths of a second, setting up a titanic fight between the two title rivals on Sunday.

However, Norris was unchallenged by Verstappen and dominated en route to the chequered flag, crossing the line almost 21 seconds ahead of the three-time world champion.

Rosberg has suggested Red Bull will be nervous about the run-in to the season as McLaren hunt both F1 titles.

“More than the win, it's that performance and the speed,” Rosberg told Sky F1.

“That's going to have Red Bull scared, because with this speed to the end of the year, it's realistic that Lando can really win all the remaining races.”

Norris now sits 52 points behind Verstappen in the drivers' championship with six rounds remaining - three of which are sprint events.

With Verstappen salvaging a strong point-scoring result in Singapore by finishing second, Rosberg predicted it will be difficult for the Dutchman to repeat the result at the coming races as he played up the prospect of the title fight. 

“For Max to come second it's so difficult, it seems,” Rosberg said. “So the world championship is still on.

“It’s almost impossible for Max to finish second all the time because of Oscar [Piastri] being there. Also, Oscar has been doing such a great job, generally.

“He’s going to be taking points away from Max. So this is a big problem.”