In 2016, after just four races, Red Bull made the call to drop Daniil Kvyat from the senior race seat and put Max Verstappen in the car.

It was a decision, Christian Horner admits, that was made to “cement Max’s long-term future” with the team at a time when rumours were already linking him to rivals such as Mercedes.

Verstappen made his Formula 1 debut in 2015, the teenager placed with Toro Rosso – the youngest driver to start a race.

While Verstappen time and time again showed why he had been handed an F1 race seat despite his tender age, over at Red Bull, Kvyat was taking the fight to his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, out-scoring him by three points in the Drivers’ Championship.