The cars, now energy-starved, must be driven cleverly to keep recharging the battery across a lap. Tactics such as dropping down to first gear (rarely necessary in the past), running at maximum revs in a gear or avoiding full throttle at points can all help top up energy levels for later in a lap.

Verstappen’s critical assessment of the new generation of F1 cars is intriguing, just three weeks out from the season-opener in Australia - especially given the advantage Red Bull look to have over th