Behind him, Max Verstappen was a man on the move. Starting fifth after an error in qualifying yesterday, Verstappen decisively passed both Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc on the opening lap and by lap eight, began to close in on his old sparring partner Lewis Hamilton. The pair had a brilliant tussle through turns three, four and five on lap 12.
Hamilton hung on for second and pitted a lap later. Verstappen pitted on lap 18 and resumed his duel with Hamilton on lap 22. The Red Bull driver made a pass at turn three but lost out to Hamilton on the following straight. Verstappen regained the initiative at turn five, drew away from Hamilton and set his sights on runaway leader Russell. The gap came down to as little as 0.8s on lap 37 with Russell pitting from the lead on lap 44. Red Bull opted to leave Verstappen out in order to maximise his tyre advantage for the final stint. The four-time world champion eventually came in at the end of lap 48 for a final set of hards. Verstappen pursued his rival for the final 22 laps but eventually missed out by 1.6s. Even so, this marks Verstappen’s best result of the season so far, a much-needed confidence boost given their recent troubles.
By contrast, Kimi Antonelli had an uneven afternoon. Starting third, Antonelli admitted to getting “a bit too excited” during the opening exchanges. The championship leader ran wide at turn one and again at turn three on lap two. Carlos Sainz stopped on the main straight on lap 24, which led to the yellow flag being waved. Antonelli immediately came into the pits, however the virtual safety car was only called after his stop was complete.
There was therefore no advantage for the championship leader, who found himself in fourth. Undeterred, Antonelli pressed on, passed Leclerc for P3 on lap 30 and found a significant turn of pace in the closing stages to pressure Max Verstappen. Antonelli decided against a last-minute lunge and settled for third place. He may have lost ground to George Russell, but with 40 points in hand, Antonelli’s title challenge is still very much intact.
Oscar Piastri made up for his middling qualifying with a fine drive to fourth ahead of Hamilton. Isack Hadjar had a poor start but displayed good race craft and was able to recover to sixth. Despite his post-race disappointment, Hadjar has now finished in the top six for four consecutive races. The first time a driver in the second Red Bull seat has done so since Sergio Perez in 2024.
Lando Norris couldn’t match his teammate for pace and finished seventh ahead of a dejected Charles Leclerc, whose excessive tyre wear left him unable to defend from the likes of Antonelli and Hadjar.
Racing Bulls was its usual quiet, commendable self. Liam Lawson secured a valuable ninth, despite early reports of a possible fire, ahead of his teammate Arvid Lindblad. Gabriel Bortoleto finished 11th ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly, Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon. Alex Albon clobbered a bollard at turn three on lap 52 and triggered a VSC. He eventually finished 17th ahead of Fernando Alonso, the last classified finisher.
Lance Stroll retired on lap 45 with a mechanical issue. Sainz coasted to a halt with electrical issues on lap 23, while both Cadillacs retired within the first five laps with brake trouble.
Russell has hit back at exactly the right time. With his home race up next, one that takes place at the sort of high downforce circuit where he generally excels, the Mercedes driver is now well placed to chip away at his teammates’ championship lead.
