Max Verstappen: “Winning here was really unexpected”

It’s been a weekend full of surprises that has delighted Formula 1 fans in Sepang. After Lewis Hamilton’s stunning pole position yesterday, it was Max Verstappen’s unexpected victory that concluded a roller-coaster race.

Quickly getting rid of Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari even before the start, the Dutchman from Red Bull made a decent start, allowing him to stay in contact with the poleman. After 4 laps, Verstappen made a commanding overtake to take the lead of the race and never let it go: « It’s incredible to win the race today. Right from the start, I could see that our pace was good and that Lewis was struggling with his traction. I attacked for that reason and used all the possible power from the battery to overtake him. I knew he was fighting for the championship and wouldn’t take too many risks, so I did it. As soon as I passed Lewis, I knew from there that I could control the race,” the Dutchman said after the race.

That winning moment… 😁🏆 #givesyouwings #MalaysiaGP pic.twitter.com/zMB7pZ4Tf8

— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) 1 octobre 2017

Despite the apparent ease of his race, Verstappen had to fight throughout the 56 laps against the heat and fatigue to achieve his second success in Formula 1: « The car was really good and our pace on the Soft tires was better than expected. It was a very physical and very hot race in the car, plus I didn’t feel very well this weekend, but we managed to bring back this good result. »

A victory that could lead to others before the end of the season: « You can never predict how the rest of the season will go, but we keep improving the car, and it seems positive. We hope that from now on, we can build on this for the rest of the year and start a good beginning for the next season. I didn’t expect us to be so fast today, and winning here was really unexpected, so I am very happy. » concluded the Red Bull driver.

A victory completed by the beautiful third place of Daniel Ricciardo, who, even though he wasn’t on the pace with his teammate this Sunday, managed to secure another podium by holding off, in particular, the attacks from Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari towards the end of the race: « I enjoyed the race today. At the beginning, I was hoping to finish second, but after the pit stop, it was just about holding onto third place as Seb was coming back. I was ready to fight him off and make his life difficult, but I was surprised there was only one attack from him. Maybe he used up all his tires to catch me, and then after the attack, I think he had some problems. Honestly, I would have liked a bit more battling before the last few laps to make them more exciting because I felt a bit lonely at the end. » said the Australian.

But climbing once again onto the podium was enough today for the happiness of the smiling Red Bull driver, who thus strengthens his fourth place in the drivers’ championship: « This double podium is a very positive result for us today. Obviously, Max achieved a great result and drove well, so congratulations to him on the victory! »

A victory also praised by Christian Horner, satisfied with this double podium at Sepang: « An excellent performance from the whole team today and it’s fantastic to see Max achieve a well-deserved victory after enduring so much bad luck throughout the season. I said that when Max’s luck changed, it would change in an exceptional manner and it’s hard to believe that the last time he was on the podium was at the beginning of April in China. Today, he drove a commanding race, making a sensational overtake on Lewis and then truly controlling the race from there. Daniel, after starting on the wet side of the grid, initially dropped a place to Valtteri but worked hard to regain it, which is incredibly difficult on this circuit, then he managed to conserve enough strength to fend off a fast-charging Sebastian at the end of the race. » concluded the Sporting Director of the Red Bull team.

The best shots from a successful #MalaysiaGP 🇲🇾🙌 See the full gallery 📷👉 https://t.co/m9r4s9L9sc #F1 pic.twitter.com/ip6zcHAcED

— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) 1 octobre 2017