Max Verstappen confident in race pace for Sunday

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Max Verstappen will line up third on tomorrow's Malaysian GP grid, just inching out Red Bull Racing team mate Daniel Ricciardo in Saturday's qualifying session.

The Dutchman looked like a contender for a spot on the front row at one point but Nico Rosberg eventually held his own behind poleman Lewis Hamilton.

"The whole weekend has been quite positive for me, " said Verstappen.

"We made some changes after Singapore so I could feel a bit more comfortable in the car. To be that close behind Nico in qualifying is very promising for the race tomorrow."

Verstappen showed some good relative performance yesterday on his long runs, leading many to believe that he may be in line for a strong performance in tomorrow's race.

"Yes, the long run pace looked promising and we also improved on the shorter run performance."

Sepang is the third time the Dutchman has out-qualified his team mate since his switch to the senior bull outfit in Barcelona last May, gradually improving his performance on Saturdays.

"It's all about attention to detail. You can't change the car a lot in qualifying, juts the front wing. You need to guess sometimes, and sometimes after FP3 you make some changes but if they don't work out you can't change anything.

"That is what mainly happened to me with Red Bull so far. You don't know the car yet to its full potential, so you just try to find out. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.