Redhot Lewis
Verstappen hopes to translate qualifying brilliance into win
Lewis Hamilton once again made the difference for Mercedes as he celebrated his 70th career Formula One pole at the Malaysia Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit. The championship leader was sixth on Friday and fifth in the final practice, but he put in the lap that mattered after engine problems sidelined Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel.
RED Bull’s Max Verstappen celebrated his 20th birthday with the third fastest time after a gruelling qualifying round at the Petronas Malaysia Formula One Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit.
Mercedes’ championship leader Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen occupied the front row of the grid for today’s race as Red Bull drivers Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo occupied the second row.
For Verstappen, the third position on the grid is his 11th this season. But the Belgian knows that most times his races on Sundays do not measure up to that on Saturdays.
Verstappen managed 12 laps in the qualifying session and his best time was 1:30.541. Hamilton was timed at 1:30.076 and Raikkonen at 1:30.121.
“Yes, I have had good positions before on the grid with the races on Saturday being a little better. But on race day on Sunday, we have not had that much luck,” said Verstappen.
“But we will do our best and hopefully it might rain and that would give us some advantage. I struggled quite a bit today in both sessions.
“The heat was quite searing. But we did well to finish high on the grid.”
The Malaysia Grand Prix has been good to the Red Bull drivers, who managed a 1-2 finish in 2016.
Last year, it was Ricciardo who took the chequered flag ahead of Verstappen.
But the Red Bull drivers know that Mercedes will be all out to win today to stay ahead in the championship race.
Hamilton holds a 28-point advantage over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
The Red Bull drivers are not in contention for the title as Ricciardo is in fourth spot with 162 points while Verstappen is sixth with 68 points.
But they could play spoilers and keep the title fight going with five more races to go.
Last year, Ricciardo also started fourth on the grid at Sepang but he went on to take the title.
Ricciardo joked after the race that the same thing could happen today.
“I feel probably the same as everyone else about tomorrow (today). One stop can be possible, but tyres could become too hot. So I guess mixed strategies are needed.
“But with the way the conditions are happening here, one never knows,” he said.
Earlier in free practice three there was a little drama for Verstappen and Renault’s Jolyon Palmer.
But both escaped any further action after a collision left Palmer’s car with a broken front wing.
Race stewards reviewed the incident and decided not to penalise either driver, saying it happened in free practice and not at the qualifying stage.
With the Red Bulls locking out row two, fifth place went to Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes.