Damien Smith

Huge credit to Max Verstappen. Seven days after his dominant Italian Grand Prix win and on a weekend off from a 24-race Formula 1 season, the four-time champion pitched up at the Nürburgring to make his long-awaited race debut on the Nordschleife - with the racing equivalent of a humbling L-plate stuck on the back of his car.

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Rules about who qualifies to race on the fearsome 12.94-mile track are strictly policed, and there are no exceptions on the process that must be followed - even for one of the greatest F1 drivers in history. Without a complaint and with an admirable lack of ego, Verstappen undertook the pre-weekend theory test, then made his race debut in a round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) in a modest Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 - which had been detuned to match his rookie status! The big red Permit B sticker on the rear of the Red Bull-liveried coupé completed the humbling experience.

The whole point was for Verstappen to earn a Permit A, which will allow him to race GT3 sports cars on the Nordschleife and eventually in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. He didn't quite hit the requirements (through no fault of his own), but the organising committee saw sense and avoided a major embarrassment for themselves by granting him his permit.