Max Verstappen’s verdict on Sunday’s race in Malaysia opened on how it will feel inside the car.

“There’s always such high degradation, and it’s hot in general, so quite uncomfortable physically,” the 29-year-old told reporters at Sepang, where the race that was originally the Bahrain Grand Prix has been relocated for 2026.

The four-time world champion sits sixth in the drivers’ standings and is out of the title fight. His win column for the year is still blank, and he is not pretending otherwise.

“I want to win, that’s what I’m here for and I’m getting close, but I want at least to win one race this year,” Verstappen said.

Read also: Lionel Messi to become ‘doctor’ hours before final Argentina appearance

He finished two-tenths behind George Russell at the previous round in Baku, his closest shot at victory this season. Russell’s Mercedes teammate, 20-year-old Kimi Antonelli, leads the title race on 302 points, 66 clear of Russell after Azerbaijan.

A mid-range compound selection

The Sepang asphalt has not been resurfaced since F1 last visited in 2017. Pirelli describes Sepang as placing medium levels of stress on the tyres and has nominated the C2 as hard, C3 as medium and C4 as soft, a mid-range selection intended to shorten the gap between a one-stop and a two-stop strategy.

Antonelli, who was 11 the last time Formula 1 raced here, expects attrition to shape the afternoon.

“We might see two or three stops because tyre degradation is going to be big,” the championship leader told Sky Sports.

Read also: Jamie Carragher tells Sheikh Mansour to sell Man City after guilty verdict

Reigning world champion Lando Norris, chasing Antonelli and Russell from fourth in the standings, warned that the long straights into tight corners will create overtaking and incidents in equal measure.

“Malaysia will be pretty chaotic in terms of racing because of the straights and corner setup that you have there,” Norris said.

Mercedes ‘the fastest’

Verstappen was blunt about where Red Bull stand in the running order.

“Unfortunately, we’re not outscoring Mercedes and they’re actually the fastest, or at least they were for most of the season,” he said, as reported by AFP via France24.

Read also: Liverpool ready to raid Man City for two stars after guilty verdict

Red Bull outperformed Mercedes at the low-grip, 90-degree street layout in Baku, but Sepang’s flowing medium and high-speed corners are a different proposition, better suited to Ferrari and McLaren. The final sector in particular tends to cook the rear tyres.

Verstappen signaled the weekend will double as data-gathering before Formula 1’s wholesale rule change in 2027.

“We’ll learn a lot now, in these coming races, what we need, what we want to do with the car for next year,” he said.

Lights out at Sepang is 3pm local time on Sunday, 4 October.

Read also: Everton’s points deduction appeal could save Manchester City

Read also: Cristiano Ronaldo’s No. 7 given to new Portugal star after camp exit