Max Verstappen says he is determined to win "at least one race this year” as the four-time Formula One champion finds himself in an unfamiliar sixth place in the championship standings after 15 rounds.
After dominating F1 in recent seasons, Verstappen has managed seven podium finishes this year but remains without a victory. He has come close in his last two races, finishing second in both Madrid and Baku.
Verstappen is among the few current drivers with experience at Sepang, which is hosting an F1 race for the first time in nine years after the Bahrain Grand Prix was relocated because of the conflict in the Middle East.
Red Bull have outscored both Ferrari and McLaren over the past three races, but Verstappen acknowledged that their recent progress has done little to close the gap to Mercedes, who hold commanding leads in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.
"Unfortunately, we're not outscoring Mercedes. They're actually the fast ones, or at least they were for most of this season,” he said.
"I'm trying everything I can. 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. I want to at least win one race this year. So I hope we can do it at some point.”
The 29-year-old was the last driver to win at Sepang, claiming his second career victory there, but admitted he felt disoriented when he returned to the circuit after nearly a decade.
"I walked into the paddock and I had no idea where I had to go. So it's been a long time,” Verstappen told reporters Thursday.
"I always enjoyed racing here because I think I really liked the track layout. It was not very straightforward because there was always high (tire) degradation, hot in general. So quite uncomfortable in a way to drive physically.”
‘Big learning curve’
Verstappen said the car upgrades introduced in Baku showed promise, though he cautioned that the street circuit has historically suited Red Bull’s characteristics.
"So we have to wait a little bit now in the coming races to see how the car is going to perform, which is also quite good for us probably to see all these different kinds of tracks.
"For next year we'll learn a lot now, in these coming races, of what we need, what we want to do with the car. We're anyway not fighting for the championship, so for us, it's a big learning curve.”
With no decision yet on whether the final two rounds will go ahead in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, Verstappen said he trusted Formula One and the governing FIA to make the right call.
"I love going there, but of course it has to be on the right terms,” Verstappen said.
"I trust that F1 and the FIA will make the right decision because they have more information than we do. That's what we rely on. I trust that they'll make the right call.”