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Formula One: Max Verstappen snaps losing streak; wins in Malaysia

By Mark Gero

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - OCTOBER 01: Race winner Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the Malaysia Formula One Grand Prix at Sepang Circuit on October 1, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - OCTOBER 01: Race winner Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the Malaysia Formula One Grand Prix at Sepang Circuit on October 1, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /
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Following seven of the last 14 Formula One races without finishing, Max Verstappen finally completed a race by winning Sunday the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Following his celebration of his 20th birthday one day ago, Max Verstappen got off to a great start Sunday at the Formula One Grand Prix of Malaysia Sunday afternoon, passing Lewis Hamilton on the fourth lap and never looked back, winning the race by 12.770 seconds over the series leader.

Red Bull Racing also scored double podium points by having Daniel Ricciardo just holding off Sebastian Vettel for 3rd.

Here is what Verstappen had to say afterwards.

"“I think in the beginning, straight away the car felt good and I saw Lewis struggling a bit with traction and he was clipping a bit more than me, so I used my battery as much as I could and of course he has more to lose than me in the championship so I went for it in Turn 1 and from there I could my own race. The car was unbelievable. I had pace. If I needed to speed up I sped up. Yeah, it’s amazing. It’s a very tough race but of course incredible to win.”"

Verstappen had control of the race from when he had a comfortable lead of 3.7 seconds from lap 11 onwards to a 9.5 second lead with just six laps to go in the race. Hamilton was never near the Dutchman, and Verstappen even increased his lead as Hamilton eased off to save his tires at the end of the race.

It was a disappointing day for Ferrari at this race, as Kimi Raikkonen had engine issues and was pulled into the garage, never starting the race as Ferrari mechanics worked in vain to get the Finn back to the start. But it never worked, with Raikkonen becoming the first retirement of the race. Vettel, on the other hand, managed to start the race from dead last, suffering from the same problem as Raikkonen the day before.

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But the German moved up the grid from the start and found himself as high as 4th, where he finishes after having to concede to Ricciardo at the end of the race, just missing out on what would have been a well-deserved podium finish. To makes things worse, Vettel was struck by Lance Stroll, tearing off the left rear side of his car on the cool down lap.

Only two cars were out of the race, as besides Raikkonen, Carlos Sainz retired his Toro Rosso with also an engine issue.
Following Vettel, Valtteri Bottas was never in the fight with his Mercedes and finished 5th, while Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon took 6th and 10th in their Force India entries, respectively. Stoffel Vandoorne finished an impressive 7th for the second race in a row in his McLaren-Honda, while Williams Martini Racing had Stroll and Felipe Massa take 8th and 9th, respectively.

Hamilton now leads Vettel by 34 points in the championship with only five races to go, starting with the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka next weekend. But for now, the day went to Verstappen, who is hoping that this victory will snap his bad streak of not finishing in the last seven out of 14 races before his win here.

MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX RACE RESULTS

  1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
  2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
  3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing
  4. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
  5. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
  6. Sergio Perez, Force India
  7. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren
  8. Lance Stroll, Williams
  9. Felipe Massa, Williams
  10. Esteban Ocon, Force India
  11. Fernando Alonso, McLaren
  12. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
  13. Romain Grosjean, Haas
  14. Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso
  15. Jolyon Palmer, Renault
  16. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault
  17. Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber
  18. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
  19. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso
  20. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

Next: Looking back at Lewis Hamilton's all-time pole record

The next Formula One race is the Japanese Grand Prix, which is set to take place next Sunday, October 8th at 1:00 AM ET.

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