The victory was Verstappen’s sixth of the season, extending his lead in the F1 Drivers’ Championship to 56 points.

Verstappen, who started on the front row alongside Mercedes pole sitter George Russell on Sunday, stayed clear of trouble on a day of changing conditions, snatching the lead from McLaren’s Lando Norris on the final pit stops.

The Dutchman then grimly hung on to claim his sixth victory from nine races this season and the 60th of his Formula One career.

It was another brilliant drive from the 26-year-old, who dealt with constantly changing weather, pit stop battles and challenges from McLaren and Mercedes while wrestling with his Red Bull’s suspension.

After Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Williams’s Alex Albon came together, bringing out the safety car for a second time, Verstappen pulled away on the restart and finished 3.879 seconds ahead of Norris while Russell won a nail-biting last-laps duel with teammate Lewis Hamilton to complete the podium.

Verstappen now leads the Formula One (F1) Drivers’ Championship with 194 points. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is next best, at 138 points.