he slid on the main straight due to a loss of traction, causing oversteer. After an additional tyre change from intermediates back to rain tyres, he ran in 16th place with just 15 laps remaining. Verstappen then made several overtakes in quick succession during the closing laps to eventually finish on the podium in third place. He received considerable praise for his performance: rival team Mercedes' team principal, Toto Wolff, labelled it "The Verstappen Show", and described Verstappen's drive as "physics..being redefined". However, Verstappen came under criticism from four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who stated that Verstappen had pushed him off the track at the Junção corner late in the race. The race stewards did not share Vettel's view and decided that no reprimand was warranted. 2017 season During the first 14 races of the 2017 season, Verstappen suffered seven retirements, four due to mechanical issues, and three due to first lap collisions in Spain, Austria and Singapore. Of the races he finished, however, he claimed a third place in China, and in the another five races he finished fourth or fifth. From the Malaysian Grand Prix onward, Verstappen enjoyed a surge of success. He won his second Formula One race at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, a day after his 20th birthday, passing then three-time champion Lewis Hamilton for the lead in the early stages of the race. He finished second in the following race in Japan. He then finished third at the United States Grand Prix, but was classified fourth after his final lap overtake on Kimi Räikkönen was deemed illegal. He won his third Formula One race at the Mexican Grand Prix, after passing Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap. 2018 season In the first six races of the season, Verstappen had been involved in at least one incident in each race. In Australia, he qualified fourth but fell behind Kevin Magnussen at the start. In his attempts to retake the position he ran wide multiple times and damaged his car, with a spin causing him to fall further down the order. He recovered to eventually finish the race in sixth place. At the next race in Bahrain, he crashed during qualifying and started in 15th place. He had a productive first lap after which he found himself in the points while challenging Lewis Hamilton. He attempted an overtake on the reigning World Champion at the start