SEPANG, Malaysia -- Max Verstappen is hoping he can finally capitalise on a strong Saturday performance after qualifying third fastest for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The Dutchman, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Saturday, has been ultra impressive in qualifying this season to hold a commanding 11-4 record over teammate Daniel Ricciardo but it's been a completely different story on race day where he has endured some wretched luck. Verstappen has retired from seven of the past 12 races -- mostly through mechanical gremlins -- to find himself a whopping 96 points adrift of Ricciardo in the championship standings.