In Qatar, Max Verstappen had good karma against the British

He could have remained a spectator of his own weekend, and no one would have held it against him. He could have simply observed that his car was simply not at his best on the Losail track and savor in the shadow of the peloton his fourth title freshly acquired, a week earlier in Las Vegas. Here again, no one would have dared to hold it against him after the sometimes chaotic course that was his this season. Unlike previous seasons, Max Verstappen bit the dust this season, brought to his knees, but got back up each time. Sometimes there was the sluggish performance of his RB20 and other times the hassles of a sporting power that never stopped marking him. Not a conversation that was not listened to, not an action that was not reprimanded. Nothing was forgiven him. It was often incriminating that his actions were judged, as this weekend again. So yes, he could have been content with the supporting role that the preliminary scenario of this penultimate round of the world championship reserved for him. He could have, but he did not even ask himself the question: the champion played the champions!

Sixth on the starting grid for the Sprint race, 0 seconds from pole after a first day that was not far from disastrous, he found himself with a half-tenth lead over his closest rival during the