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Max Verstappen is one of the most gifted and brilliant drivers of the current generation. He drives with the elan of a champion and given the way he is racing and the moves he displays on the track, it is definitely a moment of time before the flying Dutchman can put his famous mugshot on a world championship crown.
In the 2018 season, Verstappen displayed some heroic drives and was responsible for winning two famous Grands Prix, at Austria and Mexico, the latter being the scene of an incredible win the previous year.
That said, what were the top 5 moments of the famous Dutch driver in this season?
Winning the Mexican Grand Prix
Few sights are as interesting and enamouring as seeing Dutch driver Max Verstappen win a Grand Prix. From the moment he passes the checkered flag to the moment he's congratulated on the team radio to finally sprinkling the champagne on the podium, there's something emotional and energetic about the scenario.
At the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix, there were, once again, familiar scenes but not before Verstappen made his point; grabbing the lead of the race from Red Bull teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, before going on to battle the Ferraris and others to elope with a smart win.
While the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix might have seemed more daring, in the sense that Max' move over Vettel inside the opening lap, seconds from the start of the Grand Prix did leave Ferrari fans disenchanted while leaving Red Bull fans to the edge of their seats, the 2018 win too indicated that the driver didn't eschew an iota of the panache that fashions his race craft.
While the pole belonged to Ricciardo, Verstappen beating his teammate and ultimately emerging on top was a sign of a man on the move. What can his last two Grands Prix yield?
The move on Charles Leclerc at Monaco Grand Prix
They say it's never easy to execute a pass at the famous Principality of Monaco. But they also say, it's never easy to undermine or deny someone like Verstappen.
Truth be told, while the most gifted driver of the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix was Daniel Ricciardo, who delivered a stellar drive to elope with a fighting win, denying Vettel any chances of snatching P1, it was Max Verstappen who perhaps delivered the best move of the race.
In a bold and fighting move, Verstappen dived into the inside of Sauber's Charles Leclerc just after exiting the famous tunnel around the chicane to put himself up into the middle of the pack.
In so doing, Verstappen not only executed a clean move but, in effect, proved the naysayers that he wasn't the 'Crashstappen' that events at Baku and China had led them to believe.
An impressive US GP drive to finish second
Max Verstappen would not have forgotten the dying moments of the 2017 US Grand Prix, would he?
In fact, truth be told, it would've taken an excellent handling of mental pressure and anxiety on his part to have forgotten the events that took place at Turn 17 during the final lap of the 56-lap contest.
Wondering why?
It was at this particular part of the beautiful Circuit of the Americas track where Verstappen, running in fourth in 2017, managed to pass the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, just that there was one problem. In executing his move on the Iceman, none of Verstappen's four wheels were inside the track limits.
This time around, however, he'd battle an even more dangerous driver, if it must be said, in the form of Lewis Hamilton and he drove like a pro- for that is what it takes to handle the Briton- to keep the nose of his car ahead of the Mercedes driver.
In engaging in a heartening but valiant battle with the now five-time world champion, Verstappen snubbed Hamilton from making any advances toward the front and snatched a clean and well-fought P2.
A fighting second at France
The French Grand Prix finally returned to the F1 roster but not before spending a decade in the wilderness. And boy, what a resounding comeback it made in the end.
While the 2018 French Grand Prix would forever be remembered for the amazing win grabbed by the eventual world champion, Lewis Hamilton and perhaps the rather uncannily designed trophy, one simply can't suppress the man who claimed the second spot on the podium, Max Verstappen.
In beating familiar on-track adversary, Kimi Raikkonen, fair and square by a margin of over 18 seconds, Verstappen showed class and proved he can be among the fastest men on the grid.
But other than that, his showing cool and keeping all four wheels within the track limits whilst taking excellent care of his tyres against a backdrop of rising track temperatures underlined Max's ability to perform at a track he had absolutely no idea of racing at. Let's not forget, this was Verstappen's first drive at Le Castellet, among the most famous Grand Prix tracks in the world.
In fact, right at the beginning of the race, as soon as Bottas was touched by Vettel's Ferrari and lost control of his Mercedes, Verstappen, sensing an opportunity to take P2 in front of both guys, did it and found himself in a comfortable situation, he'd look after his race with the precision of a mathematician and enforced his will on the others to run home with a firm second.
Max Verstappen has a rather interesting and controversial Brazilian Grand Prix of 2018.
Starting from Fifth, his Red Bull tucked in behind Raikkonen’s Ferrari, Max would immediately go on the offensive. He would pass both the Ferrari’s including that of Sebastian Vettel, attacking from the opening lap itself whilst seizing the initiative in the second lap.
Both the red cars under pressure, Max was easily the fastest man on the grid. By Lap 3, he was already threatening the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas in the battle for second.
Later in the race, Verstappen, who was the race leader, ahead of Lewis Hamilton would find to his utter dismay, the Racing Point Force India of Esteban Ocon make contact with his Red Bull.
While on the one hand it is fully legal for a backmarker to outlap himself, nowhere does it make sense for the driver at the back of the grid to attempt an insane move risking the fortune of the race leader.
But in so doing, Ocon came to blows with Verstappen’s car, which meant that Max would spin out, lose some bodywork on his Red Bull and find Lewis Hamilton reclaim the lead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, a position which Hamilton wouldn’t concede.
In the end, Max, who still drove well enough to gather a Second didn’t exactly cut a happy figure on the podium, his chance of gaining a second win, at the back of his Mexico triumph ruined by Ocon’s fault.
Unhappy with the outcome, Max would then be involved in a physical tangle with the Frenchman, who had already endured a 10-second stop and go penalty in the race.
In the end, it didn’t make for a pleasant sight to find Verstappen fighting with Ocon in the garage. Was this vent of anger justified? Do racing incidents not happen all the time. Should top rate professionals allow themselves to be consumed by such temper?
Winning Red Bull's and his own maiden Austrian Grand Prix
Nothing feels better than winning your maiden race at a venue where you haven't really managed a win there before. And when, in the process of winning a Grand Prix, you run home the top position for your team, especially at its home Grand Prix, you know you've achieved something special and worthy of celebration.
Just that this precise feeling for the popular F1 driver grew multifold at Spielberg, the home race of his team, Red Bull, given that he never really seemed in charge of the proceedings to win.
With the two Mercedes locking out the front row only to be followed by the two Ferraris, it wasn't going to be any easy for the Red Bull driver. But given that he had stuck his car right behind the tail of the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, Max might have felt that he had an outside chance to sneak ahead of the Finn right at the start.
But just what did we all experience at the start? Instead of Max making a move or two, Kimi dived into the middle of the two Mercedes, positioning himself excellently in a sandwich move, giving no chance to Vettel or Verstappen who were caught napping a bit.
Of course, later, given the twin retirements of both Mercedes with Verstappen running in a good pace, the Dutchman kept himself in business and would eventually inherit the lead of the race from Hamilton, who pitted on Lap 25, thus leaving the scope open for the young man.
It would be a Mad Max show from there on.
