Verstappen aims high after star drive at Sepang

Amid the chaos following a freak rainstorm during the race, the Dutchman managed to jump a massive 16 places to second place from 18th on the grid and mixed it with the leaders.

With a low downforce setting, Verstappen was able to make life difficult for both Ferraris, the Williams of Ralf Schumacher and Heinz-Hararld's Jordan, before dropping down to seventh at the finish after a late stop for fuel.

"It is a shame we did not score points," Verstappen told this week's Autosport magazine, "but I'm very pleased and it was still a fantastic race for me. It was great to play with the big boys. It showed all the F1 teams that I can drive. You need equipment to win races, and I think that if I had the right equipment, I could do it."

The nimble Arrows-Supertec A21 of last year was noted for its straight-line speed and despite a change of engine to the Peugeot-based AMT V10 for 2001, the Leafield-based team's new A22 is no slouch either. Verstappen's top speed through the main trap at Malaysia was bettered only by the Williams-BMWs of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Verstappen is hopeful of carrying his form on to Brazil in 10 days' time. The 28-year-old ran well at Interlagos last year and fought his way up to third before fading to eighth towards the end of the race.

"Hopefully we'll make the car a little bit better, and we can have another good race," he said. "But Brazil is hard on your neck! That's what I remember from last year."