Hamilton: Max and Valtteri driving exceptionally well

A day earlier, at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Hamilton reached the impressive 100 pole positions milestone to universal acclaim, and then in the race was again masterful in his stalking and eventual hunting down of Verstappen.

It was an intriguing contest early on as Hamilton chased Verstappen hard, lap after lap the Merc would creep into the DRS zone behind the Blue car in the first couple of sectors but, when it mattered, into the straight Verstappen managed to eke the gap to over a second, with his lightning pace through the final chicane complex, and deny Hamilton the extra mph of the wing wide open.

Eventually, smart strategy to keep the #44 car out long and then two-stop won the day for Mercedes and their star, but 36-year-old Hamilton was impressed with his younger rival: "Max is driving exceptionally well, as is Valtteri. It's so close between all of us.

"This is a period of time where I have to be at the best, weekend-in-weekend-out. It's going to take perfect delivery each weekend. I don't think anyone can do that, but I'll try to get as close as possible."

In other words, 'Still He Rises' continues unabated as the Briton is able to summon something extra special when it matters, as he has done this season to counter the formidable Verstappen-Red Bull challenge.

After pole 100 on Saturday, praise was universal for the incredible sporting feat, with the likes of 1996 F1 World Champion Damon Hill Tweeting: “You do realise you are watching one of the most talented people to have ever walked the Earth, don’t you? He really is a phenomenon. I can only watch on in awe.”

Hamilton was humbled: "I saw that and I felt so much gratitude to Damon because I remember growing up watching Damon and having, as I do now, so much respect for him.

"I remember rooting for him as a Brit, wanting him to succeed even when he didn't have a great car or a good team. It's definitely humbling when you see people you've admired, you've watched and grown-up taking inspiration from - having them say respectful things and positive things like that.

"That's an amazing moment when that happens," said the seven-time F1 World Champion.

Also singing his praises was former McLaren teammate Jenson Button, who said after witnessing Hamilton's 98th victory on Sunday: "The last few years he probably hasn't had the competition we would have liked.

"But this year up against probably the most exciting young talent and, for me, the most naturally-gifted driver out there - and he's really taken it to him.

"The driver who's impressed me the most this year - it's not actually Max Verstappen. It's Lewis because of how he dealt with that pressure from Max."

Sky F1 pundit Karun Chandhok echoed the sentiment: "In roughly equal machinery, the driver then makes that last bit of difference. He has been exceptional this year. We have been massively excited to see Max and Red Bull in the fight, but Lewis is the guy that has won three out of four races.

"When you think he's won seven world championships, he's got money, he's got everything in life... and he's still able to find the motivation to find that eighth gear and keep going. It is super impressive to see," added Chandhok.

With the dust settled on the race in Spain, the ominous reality check for Hamilton's rivals is that after four races he leads the 2021 F1 drivers' championship standings by 14 points already and three wins in four races, matches the type of season start he enjoyed in 2014, 2015 and last year.