Max Verstappen, Sprint Specialist

He may not like the Sprint format, something he said once again yesterday when speaking to Gunther Steiner in the usual parc ferme interview and yet the points he has scored in the “short” races have made a far from insignificant contribution to his lead over Lando Norris in the Drivers' championship. He has won all four of the Sprints so far this year, bringing him 32 points, while Lando has not done even half as well, with 15, having never finished higher than third. Without the Sprints, the difference between the two title contenders would be 37 points, still a fair lead, but less reassuring for the three-time world champion, with six Grands Prix to the end of the season.

There are still two Sprint weekends to come, in Sao Paulo and Lusail and it would be important for the McLaren driver to try and buck the trend in the Saturday race, not just on Sundays. It won't be that simple, because Max has demonstrated a long-standing aptitude for the Sprint: it explains why the Dutchman has won 11 of the 16 short races to date with a further four visits to the podium. In total, the Red Bull driver has picked up 105 points on Saturday, almost double the second placed driver in this category, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who despite never having won one, has brought home 60 points. Norris is fifth on 42, preceded also by Charles Leclerc (57) and Sergio Perez (52).