Max Verstappen stole the Japanese Grand Prix from McLaren with a weekend of the sort of rare perfection that comes only from drivers of the very highest quality.
Verstappen's Red Bull was not the fastest car around Suzuka, but the four-time champion converted his stunning pole position on Saturday into his fourth consecutive win at the track.
His drive on Sunday - under pressure from the McLarens all race, albeit knowing that overtaking was next to impossible in cars with relatively closely matched performance - was flawless.
But his weekend was made with a qualifying lap that drew superlatives from all over the F1 paddock.
Verstappen's engineer Gianpiero Lambiase described it as "insane". Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso, a friend and fan of Verstappen, said it was "magical" and that "only he can do that". Verstappen himself called it "very rare".
It gave Verstappen pole from McLaren's Lando Norris by just 0.012 seconds. Knowing that if he retained the lead at the start, the race was a long way to being won, Verstappen did exactly that.
With overtaking close to impossible, McLaren's one chance to beat him was by stopping Norris for fresh tyres before Verstappen.
But they did not take that opportunity, and once Verstappen won the race out of the pits after they stopped on the same lap, all he had to do was keep it clean and mistake-free. The McLarens were always there, right behind, ready to pounce on any error. But Verstappen being Verstappen, none came.
Verstappen's qualifying lap "came out of nowhere", Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko told BBC Sport.
"First corner - unbelievable the speed he was going in," Marko said. "It's like his body doesn't feel G-forces. When the car is to his liking, he can drive 110%. Every corner absolutely on the limit and, like in races, he doesn't make mistakes."
Overlaying their laps, Norris and Verstappen were neck and neck until the final chicane. Verstappen nailed it, Norris lost some time, and pole was decided.
Norris' team-mate Oscar Piastri, on provisional pole after the first runs in final qualifying, made a mistake early in his last effort, and slipped back to third.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: "I'm sure our two drivers will have commented themselves that their qualifying laps were not the best laps in qualifying in their careers.
"Clearly, when Max elevates the game so much, you need to nail laps in qualifying and you need to bring home any possible millisecond.
"Yesterday it was indeed a matter of milliseconds, with 43-45 milliseconds between P3 and P1. Ultimately, I think the qualifying laps in Q3 were even more of a ...
