In treacherous conditions, Verstappen was in a class of his own, putting in a performance that underlined why he is considered by so many in Formula 1 to be the best driver in the world.

The Dutchman had qualified 12th and was demoted to 17th due to a penalty for exceeding his engine limit with a new power unit for this race, but wasted no time in proving his credentials as a potential winner.

When Norris, who had started from pole position, lost the lead to George Russell's Mercedes at the start, Verstappen gained six places on the first lap and was in sixth place by the twelfth lap.

There he got stuck on a train involving RB's Yuki Tsunoda, Ocon and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

But the race began to turn around as the rain increased in the third distance.

Leclerc pitted for new tires on lap 24 in search of additional grip, and a virtual safety car period occurred on lap 28, triggered by Nick Hülkenberg spinning his Haas, which RB into sending Tsunoda to the pits, and Russell and Norris followed him on the next lap.

But Alpine and Red Bull decided to stay out. And Ocon, who qualified an excellent fourth and ran strongly from the start, took the lead ahead of Verstappen and Gasly, who started 13th.

The decision was made despite the now heavy rain and the cars with worn intermediate tires because the teams relied on a red flag.

And the risk paid off. First the full safety car was deployed to control the field as the drivers battled their cars, and then Franco Colapinto crashed his Williams through the corners at the start of the pit straight on lap 32 and the red flag was raised.

Russell shouted his frustration over the radio, saying: “I told you we should stay out.” And a slightly more remorseful Norris admitted that the events had given Ocon and Verstappen the chance to improve their position on the track and theirs Change tires for free.

When the race restarted in still very wet conditions, Ocon survived a first restart and led for five laps before Carlos Sainz crashed his Ferrari at the entrance to the eighth corner in Laranja and brought out the safety car again.

This time Verstappen took his chance. Ocon braked early in the first corner on the restart and the Dutchman jumped inside and took the lead.

He began to zoom into the distance, setting a series of fastest laps and building a lead of 19.5 seconds over the final 26 laps of the race.

Verstappen said: “My emotions have been a rollercoaster, when the red flag came out in qualifying starting from P17 I knew it was going to be a really tough race that was possible.”