Oscar Piastri dominated the race, securing pole position on Saturday and crossing the finish line 15 seconds ahead of George Russell on Sunday. Lando Norris pushed Russell hard for second place, but the Mercedes driver held on. The real action unfolded at the start, with several drivers changing positions before the end of the first lap. Leclerc dropped to fourth, while Russell jumped to second after Leclerc’s penalty from Saturday was applied. Norris, meanwhile, climbed from sixth to third.
However, Norris’s strong start was marred by a false start penalty, which cost him five seconds. He was forced to pit early to serve the penalty, but still managed to stay ahead of Max Verstappen. Verstappen struggled with tire grip throughout the race and had a poor pit stop due to a Red Bull issue with the pit lane traffic light. The Dutch driver’s decision to start on hard tires didn’t pay off, as he was overtaken by Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton, prompting another pit stop that saw him briefly drop to last place.
Carlos Sainz had a tough day, retiring on lap 47 after contact with Yuki Tsunoda. The incident brought out the only Safety Car of the race on lap 32, as debris littered the track. The top runners pitted under the Safety Car, with Verstappen recovering to the top 10. Norris seized the opportunity to attack in the race’s final laps, passing Leclerc and Hamilton to claim third place. He was hot on Russell’s heels but couldn’t catch him. However, Russell’s second place was under investigation for allegedly using his DRS when it wasn’t allowed. The stewards were still looking into it after the race.
Pierre Gasly scored Alpine’s first points of the season with seventh place, while the Haas duo of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman finished eighth and tenth, respectively. Tsunoda added to the Japanese team’s tally with ninth place. A disappointing end to the race for Antonelli, who was running well until the Mercedes team pitted him for the third time under the Safety Car, dropping him out of the points.
With his win, Piastri moved into second place in the Drivers’ Championship, just three points behind Norris, who leads with 77 points to Piastri’s 74.
