Starting in 14th on the grid, Verstappen outclassed the rest of the field to extend his lead, although Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas crashing out in the first lap played into his hands.

Verstappen's Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, made it a one-two for the constructor by finishing in second.

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari completed the podium.

Verstappen said after the opening laps it was all plain sailing for him and the team.

“It was quite a hectic first lap to try and stay out of trouble,” said Verstappen.

“So many things were happening in front of me. But once we settled in after the Safety Car, the car was really on rails, we picked the right places to pass people and we could look after our tyres and that is how we made our way forward.

“After that, once we were in the lead it was all about managing everything – but this whole weekend has been incredible.

“It’s been a weekend I couldn’t imagine before, but I think we want more of them, so keep working hard.”

Verstappen moved up to 294 points, while Perez overtook Charles Leclerc in second on 191 points.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport