How do McLaren counter Verstappen's resurgence in this title race?

The reigning World Champion has put himself back in the title picture with back-to-back wins at Monza and Baku, closing the gap to the McLaren pair who have led the standings for much of the year.

As the championship heads into Singapore, the question is whether McLaren can continue to play it evenly between their drivers or must prioritise one against Verstappen on a weekend in which they need to score 13 points to clinch and retain the F1 Constructors' title.

Patrese explained: “When you have this situation where you are so superior as McLaren has shown until the last two races, you can talk about we are a team. But at the end, they must make decisions.”

The Italian drew on his own experience at Brabham in 1983, when Nelson Piquet’s title bid required team-wide support: “With Brabham in 1983 they told me, ‘Okay, we have to go for the championship with Nelson Piquet.’ I did it because otherwise we couldn’t beat Prost with Renault.

“We were testing new things on my car to improve the parts and then put them on Nelson’s engine for the next race. Probably, I stayed 17 years in Formula One because the teams I worked for, they knew that I was a very loyal driver. And I was more keen to help the team than to look about my interest.”

Patrese suggested history could repeat itself at McLaren if Verstappen continues to apply pressure: “If somebody else starts pushing like Verstappen could do, then you need to be a team and make decision. You need to make a decision. It’s not that probably somebody will not be happy. That will be Norris.”

The Dutchman added to his growing momentum by winning on his GT3 debut at the Nürburgring between Grands Prix weekends. Patrese welcomed Verstappen’s approach: “I think that is good that Max Verstappen wants to do something different from Formula 1, almost as it was in the past.

"For example, in the 70s, drivers were doing more endurance races than Formula 1 and endurance races were more important than Formula 1. Then, Formula 1 became more important.

“The endurance racing helps to keep Max Verstappen’s mind fresh. It means that he has a little bit of distraction. He proved that he could do anything. He can be a winner in simulators. He can be a winner in the Nürburgring. He’s a winning guy. Probably, if he plays tennis, he wants to win. We know that he’s very good," opined the Italian motorsport veteran and Grand Prix winner.

Patrese, who made his name at the Nordschleife early in his career, added: “The Nürburgring was a difficult challenge. But when you overcome this challenge and you came out good, you had also a special satisfaction. I think maybe Verstappen is looking to have new satisfactions from different driving.”

McLaren endured their worst weekend of the season in Baku, leaving Singapore as an important test of their superiority. Patrese believes the outcome could determine whether Verstappen remains a real threat.

“If McLaren comes back and dominates in Singapore as they did at the beginning of the season and Max finishes third or fourth, I think then we know that the fight will be between Piastri and Norris. If Verstappen is still giving them problems, then it will be very interesting over the next seven races," concluded Patrese.

The Singapore Grand Prix takes place under the lights this weekend, with McLaren looking to reassert control and Verstappen aiming to extend his fightback.