Nocturnal 
Red Bull’s new car upgrade has gone from promising to “incredible” in the space of a fortnight, and Max Verstappen’s rivals are already feeling it.
The Dutchman stormed to his first pole position of the season as Formula 1 returned to the Sepang circuit in Malaysia for the first time since 2017, as reported by the BBC. It’s a result that has turned heads given how far off the pace Red Bull were earlier in the year.
Even Lewis Hamilton, who starts alongside Verstappen on the front row in what matches his best grid slot of the season, admitted he’s braced for a tough afternoon. Qualifying nearly three tenths of a second behind, Hamilton said his plan was simply to “just try my best to hold on to him tomorrow.”
From off the pace to on pole
It’s a dramatic turnaround for Verstappen and Red Bull. According to the BBC, the team’s car was on average more than half a second a lap slower than Mercedes in the first half of the year, a gap serious enough to spark speculation about Verstappen’s long-term future at the team.
The reigning title contender, who came within two points of a fifth world championship last year after a huge late-season fightback, was reportedly courted by McLaren before signing a new two-year contract extension with Red Bull over the summer break.
Verstappen arrived in Malaysia on the back of three straight podium finishes, with Red Bull keen to build on an upgrade that had already brought them within 0.2 seconds of victory in Baku the previous week. Centred on a new floor, the package has clearly found another level on Sepang’s bumpy, demanding layout.
“It’s been an incredible result for us,” Verstappen said, quoted by the BBC. “Looking at the season, how it started for us and the progression that we have made. At some tracks we were kind of close, but now I think this weekend it was very positive for us.”
He added: “We have been adding bits to the car and they have worked. It’s simple as that. When they work, you gain lap time, you have a better overall balance in the car.”
Team-mate Hadjar notices the difference too
Verstappen isn’t the only one feeling the benefit. Team-mate Isack Hadjar, who missed three races after breaking his wrist while boxing as part of his training programme, said the upgraded car felt like a different machine when he returned at the Baku Grand Prix.
“I jumped in a car that’s way better than when I left it in Budapest,” the Frenchman said, according to the BBC. “Definitely, when you step out actually for three races and you come back, you actually notice a bigger difference.”
Hadjar qualified an impressive third in Malaysia but will start eighth after picking up a grid penalty for exceeding his permitted number of engine parts.
Where things stand now
Verstappen will start Sunday’s race from pole with Hamilton alongside him, setting up a potential repeat of their famous title battle from five years ago. With Red Bull’s upgrade now proven at two consecutive circuits, attention will turn to whether the improved pace translates into a win at Sepang and continues into the remaining rounds of the season.
