The transition from "secretly dating" to "openly, aggressively, and insufferably in love" did not happen gradually. It did not happen with a carefully planned press release, a joint Instagram post drafted by Edward and Sophie, or a tasteful, measured statement to the media.

It happened in Mexico City, on live television, in front of eighty thousand screaming fans, because Max Verstappen had apparently decided that subtlety was for people who didn't have world championships.