Max Verstappen sets a target of one race victory to avoid a first winless F1 season since 2015
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
SEPANG, Malaysia (AP) — Max Verstappen has set himself a target of winning one race in what’s left of the 2026 Formula 1 season, after missing out by less than two tenths of a second at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Verstappen arrives at F1’s first race in Malaysia since 2017 with the prospect looming of a first winless season since his rookie year in 2015 as Red Bull struggles to keep up with Mercedes at the front despite recent improvements.
“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 to at least win one race this year. So I hope we can do it at some point,” Verstappen said Thursday ahead of this week’s race, which is branded as the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
“We’re anyway not fighting for the championship, so for us it’s a big learning curve, but the last few weekends have been a lot better (than) at the start of the season.”
Verstappen’s desperate charge against George Russell on the final straight in Baku on Saturday ended in his fourth runner-up finish in the last eight races. He’s sixth in the standings with barely half of leader Kimi Antonelli’s points tally.
Exactly how many races are left in 2026 for Verstappen to chase an elusive win remains unclear given the uncertainty over the final two scheduled races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Eight are left on the schedule including those races, but if they can’t go ahead, F1 could opt for one replacement event in Italy.
Asked which tracks might suit his chances best, Verstappen said: “You don’t really know because it also depends on what (upgrades) other people are bringing constantly. I don’t really care to be honest. As long as I win one that would be nice.”
___
See AP’s full auto racing coverage here