The reigning three-time world champion kick-started his title defence with a maximum score. He led from lights to flag plus earned the bonus point for recording the fastest lap of the race.
Beating team-mate Sergio Perez by 22.4 seconds, with Carlos Sainz a further 2.5s adrift to finish third, Verstappen reckoned the GP surpassed his expectations as he felt ‘at one’ with the RB20.
Verstappen’s assessment was: “Unbelievable. I think today went even better than expected.
“I think the car was really nice to drive on every compound. We had a lot of pace.
“It was just super enjoyable to drive today; we really stayed out of trouble. Great start to the year. I mean, it couldn't have been better.
He continued: “It was a lot of fun. I felt really good in the car. It's always very special to have these kinds of days because they don't happen that often it just all goes perfect, and you're just one with the car and everything just feels great.”
Source: Autosport