Max Verstappen's untamed aggression signals why he is leading the next generation to challenge Lewis Hamilton

The 20-year-old was penalised for his last-lap overtake on Kimi Raikkonen, but even world champion-in-waiting Hamilton can see the threat that Verstappen will pose him

Max Verstappen will be a future title challenger that already has Lewis Hamilton concerned (Getty)

Niki Lauda called it the worst decision he had seen. Red Bull boss Christian Horner said it was time for a rethink on track limits. Jos Verstappen went into orbit on Twitter about his son’s misfortune. And Max Verstappen himself was brutally critical of the race stewards’ decision to penalise him out of the dramatic overtaking move that won him the final podium position after a brilliant drive from 16th to third place that had the crowd in Austin on their feet as they urged him on during Sunday’s United States Grand Prix. He said that such decisions were “killing the sport.”

The Dutch prodigy – just turned 20 – was one of the stars of the race, after hunting down Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari before diving down the inside to grab the coveted position. But it was clear that in doing so he put all four wheels the wrong side of the white line that marked the notional edge of the track, and the stewards acted quickly to avoid the embarrassment of Mexico last year in which three drivers thought they were headed for the same podium slot. Rules are rules, right?

But the problem here was twofold; others had transgressed similarly at times over the weekend and gone unpenalised, and in the grand scheme of things, it turned out to be the one major blot on a great weekend for Formula 1.

Lauda, the great warrior of the sport and chairman of the Mercedes team that won their fourth consecutive constructors’ world championship in Austin, was predictably outspoken as he made some interesting points.

“This decision is the worst I've ever seen, he did nothing wrong,” he began. “We're racing drivers, we're not on a normal road, it's ridiculous to destroy the sport with this kind of decision.

“Next strategy meeting we need to bring it up to the agenda and start it all over again, because we cannot do that, it's going too far. There was nothing to interfere with, it was a normal overtaking.

“Charlie [Whiting, F1’s race director] argues all the time there's white lines and you cannot drive over them. Why cannot you drive over white lines if it is possible? Build a wall there if you want.

“As long as there is normal circuit, you can use it. A white line is not a limit. Last year it was all agreed. Unless it is dangerous, the stewards would not interfere. Very simple. If they drive over each other and go upside down, only then they will come in to the stewards. And now we get this decision. I think it's completely wrong.”

Controversy is nothing new for Verstappen, who is having the career that father Jos himself once seemed on the verge of. And rather than Sebastian Vettel, it is Verstappen that will be the real danger man for Lewis Hamilton in the years to come.

Recently the latter joked about feeing old as they raced together in Malaysia and Japan, and while he artfully suggested on Sunday evening in Austin that it was for others to judge whether he has the upper hand over Vettel, he clearly has great respect for his young rival who broke insouciantly into F1 as a 17 year-old with Toro Rosso in 2015, and became the sport’s youngest-ever winner in his first outing with Red Bull in Spain last year. More recently he overtook an admittedly championship-cautious Hamilton to win in Malaysia.

Verstappen got the better of Hamilton in Malaysia (Getty)

Verstappen has long had Mercedes connections, and it was expected that they would snap him up to partner the Englishman when his contract with Red Bull ended at the end of 2019. But last week Red Bull’s precocious star surprised everyone off the track by agreeing an extension until 2020.

"Red Bull have always shown faith and belief in me,” he said. "They have always backed me and my ambition and I know we share that ambition."

"It was a great moment for the whole team to see him put the frustrations of this season behind him in taking that fantastic victory in Malaysia last month,” Horner said. "He is pure racer, with an undeniable talent at the wheel and a rare instinct for what it takes to compete consistently at this level.

"Coupled with a committed work ethic and a mature approach to learning his craft that belies his years, Max is right to be hungry for success and we are looking forward to extending that journey with him in our hunt for Formula 1 world championships.

"As we now look to the long term with Max, he is in the best place to build a team around him to deliver our shared ambition."

Together with the likes of Esteban Ocon, Stoffel Vandoorne and Carlos Sainz, who are already racing in F1, and upcomers from the lower echelons such as Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and George Russell, Verstappen is F1’s future. Nobody will be more aware of that than Hamilton, and Verstappen’s decision not to do what is predictable will have come as no surprise to him.