Formula One has built much of its recent success in the United States on the Netflix reality doc series Drive to Survive but with Max Verstappen utterly dominating there was an acute need for a plot twist.
That arrived in Miami on Sunday, when Lando Norris, the 24-year-old McLaren driver, pulled off a surprise win over the Dutchman.
Verstappen has won four of the six races so far this season and it would be unwise for anyone to see Norris's win as the sign of an imminent change in fortunes for the three-times world champion, but to maintain interest, F1 needed some rotation on the top of the podium.