Max Verstappen signed what is possibly one of his best career performances to climb from 16th place at the start (after Alex Albon's withdrawal) to victory with almost 20 seconds ahead of Esteban Ocon.
Eliminated in Q2 and penalized by five places, the Red Bull driver managed an impressive comeback and knew how to bide his time to take advantage of a red flag which allowed him to change tires without wasting time. A pass on Ocon propelled him into the lead, where he then put together the fastest laps.
“My emotions have been a roller coaster. I was unlucky in qualifying with bad luck at the red flag, I started 17th and I knew it was going to be a tough race. But we avoided the problems, we stayed calm, and all this allowed this result to win here from so far on the grid…” said an emotional Verstappen.
He explains why he attacked Ocon directly at the restart: “It was difficult to pass here with the new asphalt, there was only one line to pass on, so I knew I had to try it. It's easy to lock the wheels but turn 1 is always a good place to overtake.”
