As he crossed the finishing line at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday, defending world champion Max Verstappen remarked on the team radio that it was a lovely way to spend a Sunday.
Verstappen had every reason to be content. Winning the sprint race on Saturday had given him pole position. Here, he led from the start and had never been headed. With teammate Sergio Perez outpacing Charles Leclerc into the first corner, Verstappen was not under pressure either.
A bonus came when Leclerc, his main championship rival, made an unforced error with 13 laps to go, taking too much kerb and sliding into the barrier. Leclerc dropped from third to ninth, and although he recovered to sixth, he knew that he had allowed Verstappen to cut his lead in the Drivers’ Championship.
His mistake also allowed Lando Norris in the McLaren to inherit third place, with George Russell in the Mercedes fourth.
To add to Verstappen’s glee was the fact that – if he takes delight in schadenfreude – there was the added pleasure of lapping his bitter championship rival from last year Lewis Hamilton, who finished 13th in what was his worst race for many a year.
Afterwards, though, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff apologised to Hamilton, admitting to not giving him the car he deserved to drive.
Mercedes have failed to get to grips so far with the problem known as porpoising, which causes their cars to bounce up and down in the main straights and is related to a sudden increase and then decrease of down force.
There is a growing sense that, faced with the new regulations this year, the Mercedes team got the design of the car fundamentally wrong. While producing something without side pods may look aesthetically pleasing, it is actually very difficult to drive.
There are still 19 races to go, but Hamilton has already said that his chances of the Championship this year have gone.
Next up in two weeks’ time, Miami makes its Grand Prix debut.