What better way might Max Verstappen have marked his determination to stay resolutely in the title fight than with an emphatic victory at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ensured with one of the best overtaking moves of his career. He has always maintained that despite the team’s struggle with their car this season his commitment, his will to battle on was unwavering and he demonstrated it with a piece of relentlessly controlled dominance to take victory for Red Bull at Imola.
It was a drive that has become very much the standard, the hallmark of his time at the very top of the sport as the world champion made it abundantly clear that he is intent on maintaining his place in an increasingly intriguing title fight.