Max Verstappen has had some of his greatest ever battles in Formula One with Mercedes, and took advantage of their disastrous start to win on his Red Bull debut.
Verstappen became Formula One’s youngest-ever race winner by taking the chequered flag in only his fifth ever F1 race, and his first with Red Bull. He proved all the people doubting his early promotion wrong and set up what was to become a legendary career.
Now Verstappen is rumoured to be joining Mercedes, we take a look back at his first ever win.
Verstappen snatches Red Bull seat in shocking move
In an unprecedented and shocking move, an 18-year-old Verstappen was promoted to a Red Bull seat just four races into his Formula One career. He became the youngest driver to race for Red Bull.
The rookie sensation had achieved a points finish for Toro Rosso in every race of his young career. Meanwhile, Daniil Kvyat’s crash with Sebastian Vettel in Russia saw him yanked out of his seat early in the year.
The move was widely criticised. Both Mercedes drivers expressed their sympathies for Kvyat, who was on the podium just two races prior. “It’s the Red Bull way” said Nico Rosberg.
Pressure was heaped onto Verstappen to justify Horner’s move, which was more about Verstappen’s promising start to his career over Kvyat’s failings. Why wait? was the logic.
Mercedes disaster opens the door for an upset win
No one in their right mind predicted it was possible for Verstappen to win. The Mercedes were far and away the fastest cars on the grid in a two-horse race for the Drivers’ title. If the young Dutchman could keep pace with teammate Daniel Ricciardo, it would have been deemed a success.
But as the cars approached turn four on the opening lap, disaster struck for the race leaders. Lewis Hamilton went for a move around the outside of Rosberg but was pushed onto the grass, meaning he lost control of his car and went spinning into his teammate.
Both Mercedes were beached in the gravel, and the F1 world stood still. The race was now a battle between Red Bull and Ferrari.
Verstappen takes the lead after Ricciardo’s strategic fumble
The Mercedes crash meant it was advantage Red Bull, who had Ricciardo in the lead, followed by Verstappen. Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso was incredibly in third after jumping Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen on the race start.
It should have been a simple win for Ricciardo, but he was put on a three-stop strategy compared to Verstappen’s two-stop, which gave the 18-year-old the lead.
Ferrari momentarily took the lead, but a turn one dive-bomb on Räikkönen put Verstappen at the front. Later in the race, Ricciardo was taken out of contention with a puncture, leaving the Ferraris to chase down the Red Bull debutant in a dramatic final showdown.
Räikkönen chased him down, but despite running closely for a number of laps late, Verstappen showed maturity beyond his years to become the youngest ever race winner in F1 with a maiden win in Spain.
Max Verstappen eyes Mercedes move
Nine years on, Verstappen looks to join his great rival. He’s shared the track with Mercedes in some of the greatest duels in the modern era, and now he looks to make what could be the most significant driver move in F1 history.
Verstappen met with Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff in Sardinia, which only breathed more life into the rumours that one of F1’s all-time greats, and one of Red Bull’s greatest ever drivers, would be leaving for his former rival.
It was widely reported that Verstappen’s release clause can be triggered at the end of July, so we may have to wait a few weeks for an announcement, but all signs point towards a bombshell, as George Russell is replaced by Verstappen.