On May 15, 2016, a historic moment occurred for Formula 1.
In his first race for Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen crossed the finish line in pole position to secure his first grand prix win.
In doing so, the Dutchman became the youngest winner in the history of the sport at 18 years and 228 days, beating the previous record held by Sebastian Vettel by almost three years.
At the time, Verstappen was accustomed to setting records containing the 'junior' title and has since gone on to reach even greater heights.
With 58 Grand Prix wins and three world championships to his name at the time of writing, Verstappen has established himself as one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history.
But the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix was where it all started.
The race witnessed complete chaos when Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were involved in an accident on the first lap.
The battle was then between Red Bull and Ferrari, with Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel adopting a triple stop strategy while Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen chose to stop twice.
It quickly became clear that the latter strategy was the stronger one as Raikkonen chased Verstappen for the lead.
Try as he might, the veteran couldn't pass the second-year driver. Verstappen's team-mate Ricciardo suffered a flat tire late in the race, putting an end to already dwindling hopes of promotion to the top flight.
Verstappen crossed the finish line six-tenths of a second ahead of Raikkonen, as he succeeded in fending off constant pressure from the Finn.
“I think he has already positioned himself as a future star and has justified the confidence that Red Bull has shown in him,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said after the race.
“What he clearly has is the ability to perform under pressure.
“When Kimi was following him, he never made a mistake with the steering wheel or hit the brakes. He is incredibly calm under pressure.”
With Verstappen now third on the list of all-time Formula 1 winners and on course for a fourth title, it's safe to say that early reviews of Verstappen from his boss have aged nicely.
