MAX VERSTAPPEN’S anxious mum Sophie Kumpen asked the driver on the telephone what the result of Mercedes’ appeals would be. The 46-year-old was also asked by her son how many worried trips to the toilet she had to make while Verstappen was on the track. Hamilton seemed to be cruising towards victory until the safety car was called onto the track with five laps left to race after Nicholas Latifi’s crash. That cued the barely believable action to unfold, as race stewards allowed five cars in between Hamilton and Verstappen to pass the Brit and unlap themselves. And Verstappen’s mum also revealed that Hamilton was in fact the better performer on the day.

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