Muller’s triumph also ensured that he has finished in the top three in all but one of his 14 seasons – his first in 2006 – in either the FIA World Touring Car Championship or WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup.

“Winning was not my priority, I could have won one at Budapest, but I gave that to Yann,” said the Cyan Racing Lynk & Co legend, who placed runner-up to Ehrlacher in the title table after 16 2020 WTCR races. “My target was to help make Yann the world champion and he is now. When I came to see François Ribeiro [WTCR promoter] when Yann was 17 years old I said you should put some money on him because he will be world champion, and now he is.”

Of his Race 2 victory, Muller said: “I made a good start, then I pushed hard for five laps, then I said. ‘OK, keep cool a bit’. Then there was the safety car so I lost everything. But I had some tyre left so it was OK.”