Virgil van Dijk during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Norwich City and Southampton at Carrow Road on January 7, 2017 in Norwich, England.

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, was thrilled with the way the Spanish Grand Prix panned out, even though only one of his drivers made it to the chequered flag.

Even though that one driver was Lewis Hamilton, and he took the win after a very tough battle with the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, with teammate Valtteri Bottas forced to retire due to an engine failure, Wolff loved the fight, the battle at the front of the field where his driver and Vettel were locked in competition from the moment the lights went out till the moment the chequered flag fell.

“That was an epic Grand Prix. Racing simply doesn't go more wheel to wheel - and we were treated to some fantastic racing for the win,” he said. “Today's win was one for the whole team: an amazing drive from Lewis, great calls by our strategy team, good defensive driving by Valtteri, the fastest pit stops of the race and a quick, consistent upgraded car.”

“Everything clicked and came together for us. It wasn't an easy race after we lost position at the start: we were on the back foot, so when Vettel covered the early undercut, we sent Lewis long and took the medium tyre - to give us options at the end with another set of softs. Then we made perfect use of the VSC and took a risk to run nearly half the race on a set of softs: we thought it would work out but it was always going to be tight.”

“After that, it came down to some brilliant driving and then managing the tyres and engine just right to the final lap. But it was not a perfect day: we lost one car with a technical failure and Valtteri struggled with a damaged car after the contact at Turn One. In spite of that, he drove well and the one-stop approach could have worked out for him until the VSC happened.”

“But it was a day when only one Ferrari finished, so in spite of the retirement, we built up our championship lead. But this was Lewis' day with a supreme drive. People have been asking me if Lewis is now back. The truth is he has never been away - and today's showed it.”