Max Verstappen has clinched his third world championship.
The most one-sided Formula One campaign of recent memory was dominated by the Dutch driver.
Here, the PA news agency looks back at six races which fired Verstappen on the road to glory.
BahrainVerstappen opened his championship defence with an ominous performance under the floodlights in Sakhir.
He finished 11.9 seconds clear of team-mate Sergio Perez and nearly 40 sec ahead of third-placed Fernando Alonso.
George Russell, 55 sec back in his under-performing Mercedes, summed up the mood in the paddock when he chillingly predicted Verstappen’s Red Bull team would win all 22 races this year.
CanadaVerstappen’s sixth victory from the season’s opening eight fixtures saw him match Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 victories.
A day after taking pole position in the wet, Verstappen reigned supreme in the dry at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Even an early collision with a bird could not stop the flying Dutchman as he drew level with Senna to leave only Lewis Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him in the record books.
“To tie with Ayrton is incredible and I am proud of that but I hope it doesn’t stop here,” he said. “I hope we keep on winning more races.”
BelgiumVerstappen’s invincible streak continued in the final round before the summer break at Spa-Francorchamps.
The triple world champion started sixth following an engine penalty but he took the lead on lap 17 of 44 before crossing the line 22.3 sec clear of his forlorn Red Bull team-mate Perez.
Hamilton, who finished fourth, 49 sec back, described his rival’s dominance as like “he is having a smoke and a pancake”.
NetherlandsRed Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed “untouchable” Verstappen as the best driver in the world after he overcame a chaotic rain-hit race to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine wins in a row.
Despite two separate downpours wreaking havoc at the beginning – which left him in 13th place – and conclusion of the 72-lap race in Zandvoort, Verstappen delivered in front of 105,000 expectant fans. At one stage, Verstappen was lapping his home track four seconds faster than Perez and two seconds quicker than anybody else.
“Max is in a period of his career where he is just simply untouchable,” said Horner. “I don’t think there is any driver on the grid that would be able to achieve what he is doing in that car.”
ItalyVerstappen drove his way into the history books by taking his 10th-consecutive victory. He sat behind Carlos Sainz for 14 of the 51 laps at Monza’s Temple of Speed before fighting his way past the Ferrari pole-sitter at the second chicane.
From there, the commanding Dutchman never looked back to better the mark he shared with Vettel and become the first driver in F1 to reach double figures for straight victories.
However, there were sour grapes over at Mercedes with team principal Toto Wolff calling Verstappen’s remarkable streak “completely irrelevant” and “for Wikipedia”
JapanVerstappen’s historic winning run, and Red Bull’s unbeaten season, came to an end in Singapore. But at the next round in Japan, he hit back in emphatic style.
He topped every practice session in Suzuka, secured pole, and then won at a canter as Red Bull became the first team ever to win the constructors’ championship with six races to spare.
Hamilton could 'take a holiday' after Sao Paulo disappointment
Lewis Hamilton says he "could happily go and take a holiday" instead of finishing the season after a dismal showing at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
He made early exits in both qualifying sessions and started the race at Interlagos from 15th on the grid.
However, unlike Max Verstappen, who impressively won the race having started in 17th, the Brit struggled to mount much of a fight, coming away from the weekend with just one point after finishing in 10th.
His performance was made to look worse as team-mate George Russell had been battling for the lead but narrowly missed out on a podium place as he finished fourth.
Hamilton only has three races left with Mercedes before his move to Ferrari next season, bringing an end to their 12-year partnership.
But he was left frustrated in Brazil, expressing his disappointment with the car.
"We were just slow," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. "The car was really, really tough. I do really want to say still a big thank you to the guys in the garage. They turned up super early this morning and still did a great job throughout the weekend.
"The team could have won also, so at least one car was behaving a lot better.
"The car is like a plank of wood. It's like no suspension.
"It's bouncing on the tyres everywhere, and you can't get on the power anywhere. It's just the worst ride, I think the worst ride that we've definitely ever had, particularly through corners. It's just so stiff.
"But hopefully we won't have any more bumpy tracks. I think the last three aren't so bumpy. But yeah, I could happily go and take a holiday."
Norris claims Verstappen 'got lucky' in Brazil as title hopes fade
Lando Norris said Max Verstappen benefitted from a rule "no one agrees with" as he won a dramatic Sao Paulo Grand Prix to leave the McLaren's title hopes hanging by a thread.
Verstappen surged to a terrific victory from 17th on the grid in Brazil, with Norris faltering after starting on pole.
Norris and Mercedes' George Russell – who were vying for the lead – both pitted on lap 29, but that strategy backfired as the red flag was shown following a crash involving Franco Colapinto.
With the race suspended, Verstappen was also able to change tires for the restart, negating Norris' advantage from pitting as the world champion raced to a commanding victory.
Norris had cut Verstappen's drivers' championship lead to 44 points by winning Saturday's sprint race but now sits 62 points adrift with just three races of the season remaining.
The Brit refused to hit out at McLaren's strategy after the race, though, putting his struggles down to bad luck.
"I have faith in the team in what they are saying and they have trust in me," he told Sky Sports F1.
"It was just unlucky. I don't care about the hindsight side of things, that's luck for them, nothing more.
"They got lucky on a rule that no one agrees with. Probably they agreed with it today but every driver has disagreed with it in the past.
"Today it benefitted them, it could have benefitted us if we just stayed out, but that's a stupid thing to think of.
"Just a bit unlucky today, nothing more. Of course, disappointing. Max drove well. He got a bit lucky but that's life."
Verstappen 'wanted to destroy' Red Bull garage before Sao Paulo triumph
Max Verstappen revealed he wanted to destroy the Red Bull garage in the hours before he delivered a wet-weather performance for the ages to win the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Verstappen had been left frustrated after Sunday's delayed qualifying session, when a crash by Lance Stroll and subsequent red flag saw him drop out of Q2.
The Dutchman's early exit saw him finish 12th, but a five-place grid penalty for an engine change dropped him to 17th, presenting an opportunity for Lando Norris to take a seismic chunk out of his drivers' championship lead.
But a determined Verstappen then overcame the rain-affected conditions at Interlagos, climbing to P11 on the very first lap before making his charge into the top 10.
His remarkable comeback, which included five consecutive fastest laps, culminated in him passing Alpine’s Esteban Ocon for the lead on lap 43 before romping to victory.
“My emotions were all over the place, from wanting to destroy the garage (after qualifying) to winning the race,” said Verstappen. “It has been a roller coaster.
“It is unbelievable to win here from so far back on the grid. I was expecting to lose points in the championship.
"Now, I just want clean races. But I am not thinking about clinching the title in Vegas.”
A rain-affected race saw several incidents, with Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto and Carlos Sainz all failing to finish the race.
But Verstappen remained calm in those conditions, snapping his 10-race winless streak, while also becoming the first driver since Kimi Raikkonen at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2005 to emerge victorious after gaining 16 positions.
And the three-time world champion believed his latest win, which was his 62nd in the competition, was his best one to date.
“The rain came, we stayed out, which was very sketchy, and I had to just keep the car on track,” continued Verstappen.
“It was undriveable in the conditions. I felt like I was driving a boat, or a jet-ski.
“There was a lot at stake because I had to be aware of the championship, so for me this is the best one (victory).
"And it is a massive boost for the team because it has been a tough period.”
Verstappen is now 62 points clear of Norris in the drivers' championship with just 86 points remaining, and can win a fourth consecutive drivers' title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
However, he insisted that the season was far from over, acknowledging he must remain perfect in the final three races to get over the line after an up and down season.
“Now it’s of course a great result, which if you look a few hours ago, was definitely the other way around, looking like we were going to lose a lot of points," he said.
“So I’m very happy, but still three tough races [to go], so we just need to stay calm and make no mistakes.
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