After his big spin in Qualifying, Russell would start his Mercedes from the pit lane, changing all the parts overnight that he could. Other than that there was no new news.
Norris made a great start but Verstappen came up the inside, taking a gap left open and they were both forced off the track. Albon hit Ocon, who spun off and ran last. LeClerc was able to come from 4th to lead with Verstappen behind him, in a dream start for the Ferrari hopeful. Sainz was 3rd and then Norris and Piastri. Hamilton and Lawson both made up 5 places. This all seemed well but then Hamilton spun and beached his car in the gravel. On only Lap 3 it was too early to take the cheap pit stop. Lewis stood looking at his car.
Norris spent some time on the radio whilst the Safety Car came out and reported how Verstappen had pushed him off. The tag between the back markers had already been dismissed as a racing incident.
After LeClerc held his position after the restart. the stewards were busy investigating minor complaints and refusing to hand out any penalties, in what must be a drastic change of policy for them. LeClerc pulled out a 5 second gap from Verstappen and teams began to discuss tyre strategy with their drivers. Lawson had made significant progress through the pack and loitered outside the points.
But clearly they caught themselves as Russell was swiftly awarded a 5 second penalty to not really going anywhere near Bottas on an overtake.
By the halfway point, tyres were starting to wear beyond drivability but there was always the possibility of a Safety Car or trying to stay on the road to outstay your rivals. Sainz went early as a guinea pig for his team mate and then Verstappen, the undercut worked and Sainz was ahead of him. LeClerc was next in and came out ahead of his team mate, so it was a successful play by Ferrari however the McLarens were 1st and 2nd.
The stewards had now warmed up and seemed to be looking back through the race to find more drivers to penalise. Gasly was the first. Then Tsunoda.
We also had to see how the cars would react to the change of tyres. Verstappen was hating his. Tsunoda too, who had a big spin but managed to get going again.
For the final ten laps, Norris got close enough to Verstappen to be able to overtake him. It took a few nail-biting laps before it happened and then there was confusion about whether Norris went off the track to take the position. Or was he forced off? McLaren told Norris he was ahead at the apex, which seemed to matter. It was noted by the stewards. Norris had asked his team to make this decision as they were able to review the footage, if only they had really done this rather than saying pleasant, rallying things to please their driver.
In front of them, LeClerc had held a 5 plus second gap to his team mate Sainz in second. We didn't hear any team orders over the radio so it must have been a fair fight.
The note by the stewards moved to be under investigation and it seemed like a better move to give the place back. Still McLaren didn't act.
Colapinto had held the Fastest Lap and he looked like he would get the point for it as he was in 10th position and thus in the points and eligible. On the last lap, Ocon put on fresh soft tyres and took it off him. I don't know who benefits from that, there is no team link.
With corners to go, the stewards did award a 5 second penalty to Norris, so the whole thing was pointless. We only just saw the Ferraris cross the line victorious. Piastri held 5th and Russell 6th, which was an excellent effort starting from the pit lane. Perez was 7th, Hulkenberg 8th, Lawson 9th (again from the back of the grid) and Colapinto 10th for points for Williams. Magnussen and Gasly seemed like they should have been awarded points too.
The talk following the race would all be of the dubious awarding of penalties by the stewards. Also whether McLaren should have given the place back quicker. One of the big tragedies was that we didn't really see anything of the Ferraris drive. Sainz praised the progress made by the team, he must be looking at Williams and wondering what is ahead of him next year. LeClerc also thanked the team copiously.
Whilst it's a step towards the Drivers Championship for Verstappen, the Constructors Championship stretches wider open. The pace is picking up with two more races on consecutive weekends, with some Sprints coming up too.
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