Russell, meanwhile, said he had expected to fight at the front after being fastest in final practice.

Yet the hard-charging style is part of what makes Verstappen so fascinating. His move on Hamilton through turn one at Imola this year proved it has not been neutered, but refined. “If the gap is there I would definitely go for it, it’s just my style, elbows out basically,” he says. “But if you are in a championship fight you have to think about points every single race. It’s a balance.” On the first runs in the top 10 shootout, Leclerc used scrubbed tyres, as did all other drivers apart from Verstappen, and was slowest. Verstappen said his car was much better in qualifying after some changes and he will start his final race of the most dominant season in history from the front of the grid. No Hollywood scriptwriter could possibly have envisioned the breathless, adrenaline-pumping climax to the 2021 Formula 1 season. On the very last lap of the final race of an unbelievably arduous and controversial season, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen nervelessly overtook the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes to clinch the first place that thrust the young prodigy to the narrowest of victories and to his first World Drivers’ title. He followed up by taking the 2022 and 2023 titles as well.

F1 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX - RACE UPDATES

THE FIRST AND ONLY BIOGRAPHY OF DUTCH FORMULA ONE WUNDERKIND MAX VERSTAPPEN, NOW DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION ** Why girlbands are more radical than you might think: Chart the surprising history of some of the most iconic British girlbands It’s unbelievable. Last year was a very strong year for us but to have kept that momentum rolling with the challenges we have had is testimony to all the men and women of the team that have worked tirelessly to have produced a car as competitive as we have had and that Max has made such good use of.”

Sports journalist James Gray seeks to understand the outspoken nature and aggressive driving style that make Verstappen a must-watch before, during and after races, and why his Dutch fans, who turn up to cheer him on in their orange-clad droves, are quite so fanatical. THE FIRST AND ONLY BIOGRAPHY OF DUTCH FORMULA ONE WUNDERKIND MAX VERSTAPPEN, NOW DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION**

A definitive and intriguing biography of Max Verstappen, Formula 1's superstar, Lewis Hamilton's great rival and the winner of the 2021 and 2022 World Drivers' Championships. But on new tyres, the Ferrari improved and Leclerc produced what he said was "a really, really good lap". Verstappen said this weekend that he does not care about how and where the title is won, only that it is under his belt as he continues what has been an inexorable march typified by the run at Suzuka. Having been challenged at the start by McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri he held his nerve and his place sandwiched between the two charging papaya cars, kept his nose in front as they swept into the esses and that was it.

The rest of the grid has some way to go to come close to matching Red Bull and it must be hoped they do so but this was a title the team thoroughly deserved. They have not only had a mighty car but have been all but flawless operationally, calling races with precision and setting the benchmark for performance at the top level. A definitive and intriguing biography of Max Verstappen, Formula 1’s superstar, Lewis Hamilton’s great rival and the three-time winner of the World Drivers’ Championship. Last season the 25-year-old Dutchman romped to the title with four races remaining. He won 15 of the 22 meetings and was largely untouchable. Even if Charles Leclerc and Ferrari’s challenge had not petered out, it is doubtful Verstappen could have been denied.With Mercedes bringing an entirely different design philosophy to their car next season the team principal, Toto Wolff, was also blunt in looking forward to bidding farewell to the W14. “I am happy that was the last qualifying of the season and we are going to come with a new car,” he said, with a similarly hang-dog air as Hamilton. It will be an extension of his season record if he does so and a 54th career victory would take him past Sebastian Vettel’s tally. The Dutchman will then take his place with the third-highest number of wins behind Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. No one, and most certainly not Marko, will be betting against it.

It was a consummate display of how far the driver has come since he made his debut at 17 in 2015 – the impetuousness, poor decision-making, overaggressiveness and a somewhat all-or-nothing approach that earned him the “Mad Max” moniker was nowhere to be seen. Verstappen executed with a relentless, clinical precision, a distinctive hallmark of the great drivers and notably multiple world champions, particularly the two most successful of the modern era, Michael Schumacher and Hamilton.Piastri had been the slower McLaren driver all weekend but Norris' error allowed the Australian to sneak ahead for a strong result at the end of an impressive rookie season.