To watch Max Verstappen methodically but seemingly inevitably reeling in the previously dominant McLaren pairing of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, it's easy to forget that just over three months ago speculation was rampant that he had lost interest in this season and was even planning his exit from Red Bull.
Whereas last season Verstappen began with the fastest car on the grid, only for that pre-eminence to fall away abruptly, this year's RB21 was awkward out of the box, lacking stability in fast corners. It only came into its own, relatively speaking, at bumpier circuits where it had the redeeming feature of generating respectable downforce levels at higher ride heights.
