THE MAX FACTOR!
Birthday boy Verstappen, 20, roars to victory but sluggish Hamilton still extends world title lead to 34 points
We have had several problems this weekend that are just unacceptable
MEN in fluorescent tops had almost finished packing Formula One’s travelling paraphernalia into boxes, when, out of the gloaming, Lewis Hamilton finally emerged from one of the longest debriefs of his career.
Why so? For if you looked at the championship standings, they would tell you that he had increased his lead over Sebastian Vettel from 28 to 34 points at a torrid Malaysian Grand Prix weekend for Ferrari.
Those statistics may yet prove the most important matter when the season is over and done with, but the notion that Hamilton can kick back with a fourth world title in his grasp was not remotely in the minds of anyone at Mercedes last night. They are in something of a bind and want a quick fix.
Before raking through that, we should hail Max Verstappen, who was 20 on Saturday but drove like a seasoned campaigner to register his second victory.
It was achieved with a bold overtake on Hamilton, who said later title matters deterred him from unduly risking his paintwork by taking on the young buccaneer. It was the mature choice.
Verstappen’s move came at the start of the fourth lap, when he darted through the inside with the help of the DRS boost device. Cue frantic applauding in the Red Bull garage and Verstappen’s excited radio transmission: ‘That’s how you do it.’
The overtake made, Verstappen was imperious at the front, his Red Bull too fast for Hamilton’s often unassailable machine. The Briton finished second. However, his fight was not with the Dutchman but Vettel, who charged from 20th to finish a remarkable fourth.
This brings us to the point of the debrief that was still going on two hours after the race ended: the Red Bulls and, more significantly, the Ferraris had a huge speed advantage over Mercedes.
Hamilton came straight to his media briefing to deliver some pretty strong words. His voice was slightly hoarse, as he said: ‘When you have a difficult day, when the s*** really hits the fan, that’s when there are more questions in the debrief, more detail you go into.
‘Today was really useful for us to speak about certain issues that we’ve had through the weekend that are just not acceptable for this great team.
‘We all know that and we need to work on those areas.’
The high temperatures clearly affected Mercedes on a track whose topography did not totally suit them either — its slow corners require the downforce that Ferrari and Red Bull have in spades.
Mercedes fiddled with their aerodynamic package all weekend, especially after Friday’s awful practice session, to seek a remedy.
Putting his car on pole was a brilliant performance by Hamilton, though even here he was helped by Vettel suffering a power problem and not setting a time. The German, therefore, started at the back, a race after he crashed in the opening seconds, in Singapore.
Ferrari’s problems multiplied at the start of the race when Kimi Raikkonen, who was due to start second, suffered a mechanical problem and was pushed off, out of it.
With five rounds remaining, Hamilton need not panic as he heads for China en route to the Japanese Grand Prix next Sunday. But nor can he relax. He said: ‘A lot of analysis will happen in the next few days in terms of what we do for the next race.
‘I think Suzuka is a much cooler circuit generally and the corners are a little bit different from here.
Then Mexico later this month is a concern because it needs full downforce. There’s nothing I can do. The guys are the ones, all the team, guys back at the factory who’ll download all the data and review the race. But, honestly, I feel positive.’
No such cares for the Verstappen clan at the adjacent paddock home. Max’s father, Jos, just about fought back the tears as the Dutch national anthem was played.
Max’s sister, Victoria, an 18-yearold Belgian schoolgirl, dissolved.
It was hard to read Max’s own disposition on the podium because he was sweating an Olympic swimming pool, like all the rest of the drivers in the humid air that causes them to lose half a stone in 56 laps.
In fact, Verstappen’s dehydrated team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo, who finished third, took such a big glug of podium champagne that he seemed a touch giddy as he faced the press, pouring a bottle of water over Verstappen’s head.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner drew comparisons between Verstappen and former world champion driver Vettel, saying: ‘They are dissimilar characters. But Sebastian was very strong in delivering under big pressure situations.
‘Max has this ability too. He was so cool today in leading the grand prix. This year his performances, particularly on a Saturday, have been massively impressive.
‘We know that Daniel is one of the best out there. So to have the two of them pushing each other the way that they are is a dream situation for the team.’