On a coronation weekend, how apt then that Max Verstappen should deliver a salutary reminder that he is in no mood to pass on his Formula One world championship crown. The Dutchman delivered a relentless and flawlessly executed drive to win the Miami Grand Prix, putting the pretender to the throne, his Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez, to the sword with clinical efficiency.
The pair had started the race separated by eight places, with Pérez on pole and Verstappen in ninth. When he took the flag the world champion was a full five seconds up the road from his teammate, who was impotent after a masterclass in pace and tyre control from Verstappen who had, ominously it seemed, barely broken sweat.
