Red Bull Racing in Sepang: new territory for Hadjar, memories for Verstappen

Following a successful weekend in Azerbaijan, Red Bull Racing are keen to carry the momentum from Baku into Malaysia, where, as a one-off this year, the Bahrain Grand Prix is taking place. Isack Hadjar has only just returned from his injury lay-off. He suffered a broken wrist during a training session in the summer, missed three races and then made his comeback in Baku a week ago – in style! The Frenchman finished a strong third and stood on the top step of the podium alongside his team-mate Max Verstappen.

Hadjar: “The weekend in Baku was really positive for us. Coming back after missing three races and securing my second podium with the team was a great feeling. And the fact that both cars were on the podium was a huge step forward for everyone.”

The schedule continues at a relentless pace. This weekend’s race is in Sepang, Malaysia – a circuit Isack Hadjar is unfamiliar with. He is only in his second Formula 1 season, and Malaysia hasn’t featured on the Formula 1 calendar since 2017.

Hadjar’s debut at Sepang

Hadjar: “Sepang seems to be a really cool circuit, but I’m driving there for the first time. So the focus is on working my way up over the course of the weekend and taking it step by step, just as we did in Baku. The upgrades worked well there, which was positive, but Sepang has a different track layout, so we’ll have to wait and see where we stand.”

Max Verstappen, on the other hand, knows the Malaysian circuit inside out. He is, in fact, the most recent winner at Sepang, having triumphed there in 2017 – the circuit’s final appearance on the regular racing calendar – at the age of just 20.

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Max Verstappen gewann 2017 in Kuala Lumpur

Foto: XPB

Verstappen: “The last time we raced here was, of course, in 2017, when I won my second Grand Prix. So there are lots of fond memories, and we can now see how this generation of cars will perform on this circuit. The circuit is quite demanding but lovely to drive, with a mix of high-speed straights and tight hairpin bends, and the weather also seems to be rather unpredictable. So it will be interesting to see what the week brings.”

Incidentally, just like last week in Baku, there was also a one-two for Red Bull Racing at Sepang in 2017: as we know, Verstappen and Hadjar were on the podium in Azerbaijan in 2026 – whilst nine years ago in Malaysia, it was Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.