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Jos Verstappen claims that his son Max really needed to win a race in 2017 after a very tough season. Verstappen led 51 laps of the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday and crossed the line to take the second victory of his career.
The 20-year-old has endured an incredibly difficult year, retiring from seven of the fifteen races so far in 2017. The victory was Verstappen's second podium of the year, while teammate Daniel Ricciardo has claimed eight, including a race win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
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Speaking to Sky Sports, Verstappen senior said: "I think he needs it, he deserves it. He really needs it. I mean it was tough, this year for him was really tough. He had a lot of things to learn of course and I think this is the result when you never give up, keep motivated and keep concentrated, and that's what he does."
Verstappen qualified in third for the Malaysian Grand Prix, but was effectively second as the lights went out as Kimi Raikkonen, who was due to start on the front row, was wheeled away with an engine issue before the formation lap got underway.
"You could see in the first two laps, he could stay with Lewis [Hamilton], you could see that we had the grip," Jos continued. "He did a nice move on him I think, a proper one. Of course Lewis is fighting for the championship as well, we all know that.
"But he did it in a nice way and the car looked a bit stronger than the Mercedes. Lap times were consistent and he was controlling the pace, so he did a really did a good job. It is also very good for the team, they never give up, they keep developing and this is the result of everybody as well in the factory at home. It's a great moment."
Fergal Walsh
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
C. Sainz jr
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f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
True, very deserving win