Verstappen consoled by first win

Verstappen, driving for A1 Team Netherlands, was on his way to second place in the sprint race at Durban, South Africa, when he attempted to overtake race leader Alexandre Premat on the final lap.

The move went all wrong and while the French driver continued to yet another win, Verstappen retired and was classified 16th.

But the same move in the same location proved more fortuitous in the feature race, as Verstappen was able to pass the ailing Swiss car of Neel Jani to take his maiden A1 Grand Prix win.

"Starting from sixteenth is of course never easy, especially on this circuit," Verstappen commented after the race.

"With a good start I passed five or six cars directly. With safety cars and the boost button, it is definitely possible to pass here.

"On the last lap, Switzerland had problems, and at the same spot where it went wrong in the sprint race, it worked this time. I'm extremely happy with this.

"The sprint race was disappointing," the popular Dutchman added. "Getting second there would also have been good. That went wrong, but this victory makes up for all that."