Verstappen wary of tyre wear as he eyes first F1 win of season / Photo: I-HWA CHENG - AFP
Verstappen wary of tyre wear as he eyes first F1 win of season
Max Verstappen warned on Thursday that high tyre wear may hamper his bid to convert Red Bull's late-season surge into a first win of the year at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The four-time Formula One world champion said he was hoping to win a race before the end of this season as he returns to Sepang, where he won the last Malaysian GP in 2017.
"I'm trying everything I can," the 29-year-old said in a pre-race news conference ahead of this weekend's race.
"We are scoring quite a few podiums now, but I want to win -- that's what I'm here for and I'm getting close, but I want at least to win one race this year."
Verstappen finished just two-tenths of a second behind Mercedes' George Russell in Sunday's Azerbaijan GP, continuing a strong sequence of results for Red Bull.
"Unfortunately, we're not outscoring Mercedes and they're actually the fastest, or at least they were for most of the season," he said.
"I always enjoyed racing here because I think I really liked the track layout, but it's not straightforward because there's always such high degradation -- and it's hot in general, so quite uncomfortable physically."
Verstappen sits 6th in the current drivers' standings, with Russell and Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli leading the pack.
The Dutch racer said Red Bull excelled in Baku because of the track's unique characteristics, including 90-degree corners and long straights, for which the team brought a lot of new parts.
But the flowing Sepang circuit will likely be more suited to Ferrari and McLaren, as well as Mercedes.
"We'll learn a lot now, in these coming races, what we need, what we want to do with the car for next year," Verstappen said.
"We're not fighting for the championship, so for us it's a big learning curve.
"Every weekend now, we'll try and do our best and we'll see where that leads us."
W.Qualey--IP
