SEPANG, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- Nine years after winning at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), Red Bull driver Max Verstappen returns to the venue this weekend for the Formula One (F1) Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix (GP) with fond memories of the track where he claimed the second victory of his career.
Back at the 5.543-kilometre circuit for this weekend’s race, Verstappen admitted that nine years away was long enough for even the paddock surroundings to feel unfamiliar.
“To be honest, I walked into the paddock, and I had no idea where I had to go, so it's been a long time,” he told a press conference here today.
Despite needing some time to reacquaint himself with the venue, Verstappen said the challenging nature of Sepang had always made it an enjoyable circuit to race on.
“I always enjoyed racing here because I think I really liked the track layout. It was not very straightforward because there was always high degradation, hot in general, so quite uncomfortable in a way, of course, to drive, physically.
"They are great, great memories but, yeah, had to get into the paddock, I had to get used again. It's been a bit too long," he said.
For the record, the Dutchman was the last driver to win an F1 race at Sepang, producing a commanding drive for Red Bull Racing to clinch the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix in a time of 1:30:01.290.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton finished second, 12.770 seconds behind Verstappen, while the latter's then Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo completed the podium in third, 22.519 seconds adrift.
-- BERNAMA