Verstappen’s victory in Sepang should serve as a warning to Red Bull’s rivals | Giles Richards

Improvements to the car are paying off as the team look to lay the groundwork for renewed success next season The importance for Max Verstappen of emerging triumphant from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia was writ large in the Dutchman’s pleasure at finally being able to drive a competitive car.

In a ride with which he was comfortable and able to take to a dominant victory for Red Bull, Verstappen was in his element.

With it came a sense of what might have been had he not been long out of the championship fight, but also what might be to come next year.

The transformation was so marked because for so long this season the car has been a handful – the reason Verstappen’s title hopes faded long ago.

That the team have come back to deliver a win in such emphatic fashion was no little achievement.

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