Only twice this season - in a treacherous wet shootout in Canada and last time out at Spa prior to serving a gearbox penalty - had he been even further in front.
With Charles Leclerc crashing and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez running some 1.313s adrift of Verstappen’s 1min10.567s flier, it was left to Lando Norris to complete the front row and double underline McLaren’s turnaround. He pipped Mercedes racer George Russell to finish as the runner-up.
