Race report
From pole position, Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing initially appeared to cover off Lando Norris of McLaren (who started from 2nd place) at the start, but then locked up into the turn 1 right-hander. This allowed Norris to pull alongside on the exit of the corner, putting himself on Verstappen's outside for turn 2. As the pair entered the fast left-hander, Verstappen appeared to briefly suffer from oversteer which caused his car to "snap" towards the outside of the corner, forcing Norris to run off the track in evasive action. The resulting loss of speed caused Norris to drop to 6th position behind Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes, Norris's teammate Oscar Piastri, Antonelli's teammate George Russell, and Alexander Albon of Williams. Albon was himself fortunate to avoid seriously colliding with his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., as the pair swerved to avoid the re-joining Norris. Norris complained about Verstappen's driving over his team radio, however the race stewards decided to take no action after investigating the incident.
Further down the order, Jack Doohan of Alpine (who had started 14th) attempted to gain positions by braking late into turn 1, however in the process made contact with Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls. Lawson spun around following the collision, whilst Doohan suffered serious damage to the front-left of his car and would pull off the track further round the lap; Lawson would eventually also retire from the race due to the damage sustained. To clear debris and allow Doohan's car to be recovered, the virtual safety car (VSC) was deployed. Following the return to green flag running, Piastri made quick work of Antonelli, passing the Mercedes driver on the run to turn 11 to take 2nd position on lap 4. As this was happening, Norris made a similar move on Albon to take 5th. On lap 7, Norris passed Russell for 4th position after making a move up the inside of turn 4. Norris passed Antonelli into turn 11 two laps later, moving himself back into the podium positions. [20]
By now, Piastri had closed in on Verstappen. After applying pressure for multiple laps, he achieved a successful pass by challenging Verstappen on the outside of the braking zone for the turn 17 hairpin. Whilst Verstappen was able to fend off this initial attack, in doing so he compromised his exit onto the following start/finish straight, allowing Piastri to pull alongside as the pair began lap 14. Verstappen attempted to hold the lead by braking late into turn 1 but locked up and ran off the circuit, thus allowing Piastri to complete the pass. Verstappen now quickly came under attack from Norris. On lap 15, Norris attempted to pass Verstappen around the outside of turn 1. As Verstappen was ahead at the apex, he was entitled to take the racing line, and pushed Norris wide off of the circuit. On lap 17, Norris passed Verstappen down the inside to turn 11, in the process forcing both drivers off the track. As Norris had overtaken Verstappen off track, he conceded the position shortly after. The following lap, Norris successfully passed Verstappen at turn 11 to move himself back into 2nd position. However, significant damage had been done to his chances of victory, as Norris now found himself nearly 9 seconds behind Piastri, compared to a gap of less than 2 seconds when Piastri had first taken the lead. [20]
On lap 28 Oliver Bearman of Haas, who had been running in 12th, suffered an engine failure as he drove through turn 4 which forced him to pull off the circuit. The virtual safety car was deployed whilst Bearman's car was moved behind the barriers and, as seen in the sprint, this benefitted drivers who had yet to pit. The highest placed of these drivers, George Russell in 3rd, took full advantage and left his pitstop still ahead of Verstappen (who had made his stop earlier in the race), maintaining his position in the process. On lap 31, following the VSC's withdrawal, Alexander Albon passed Antonelli through turn 1 to take 5th position. Moments later, Albon's teammate Sainz overtook Charles Leclerc of Ferrari (who had pitted under the VSC) at the same corner to take 7th. On lap 33, the VSC was briefly redeployed after Gabriel Bortoleto of Sauber stopped on the exit of turn 16. When this VSC ended, Leclerc was able to catch Sainz off guard and repass him into turn 1 at the start of lap 34. Leclerc's teammate Lewis Hamilton was able to also pass Sainz, putting himself to 8th position. With the Ferraris now running together in 7th and 8th, a debate began on the pit wall and over team radio regarding which driver was better placed to attack 6th-placed Antonelli. On lap 38, team orders were applied to allow Hamilton in front with the hope he would be able to move up the field. However, Hamilton could not make progress, and therefore Leclerc was let back through on lap 52. Shortly afterward, Hamilton encountered Carlos Sainz Jr. of Williams. Piastri won the race from teammate Norris and Russell. Sainz was involved in an incident with Hamilton, the two making contact as they went into turn 17; no further action was taken. [20]
Lando Norris 
