Lewis Hamilton stormed to victory after a virtual safety car benefitted the Briton. Bottas had lost 2nd to Verstappen after floor damage, before Verstappen had a tyre failure, dropping him out of the race. This led to 6 laps of chaos in which Ricciardo managed to take his 2nd podium in 3 races. Mercedes take the constructors trophy for the 7th time in a row.
Bottas starts strong
Verstappen had a storming start and managed to snatch 2nd from Hamilton immediately, Bottas kept the lead while Ricciardo started to challenge Hamilton for 3rd. There was a minor incident at the back of the grid in sector 2 leaving Magnussen facing backwards. Furthermore, Stroll lost his front wing after contact with Ocon, leaving him last.
After 3 laps, Bottas led from Verstappen and Hamilton, all 3 trading fastest laps. Hamilton was getting closer with each DRS zone, but Verstappen was just pulling out enough of a gap to deter the championship leader. In the midfield, Sainz performed a superb overtake on his team-mate for 9th.
Unfortunately for 5th place Gasly, a terminal issue was found on his car and he had to retire on lap 8.
Strategy Calls
Lap 14 saw unusual pit strategies taking place as Ocon, Russell, Norris and Leclerc ignited the pit lane. A lap later, 5 other cars had pitted attempting to save their positions. Leclerc was the big winner, undercutting Albon superbly.
Verstappen was the first of the lead 3 to pit, going on to the hard compound tyre. This caused Bottas to pit next lap for the same compound, while Hamilton chose to complete a longer stint. Somehow, Bottas gained damage to the floor of his car. This meant Hamilton was closing the net gap, while Verstappen was catching the race leader.
Virtual Safety Car gifts Hamilton
Ocon retired on lap 30 and bought out the VSC. Hamilton pitted immediately and gained a 4 second advantage after his stop.
The race petered out for a while, as Verstappen remained within a second of Bottas, but was unable to overtake. By lap 39, Hamilton had a 9 second advantage. After having a huge stint on his starting tyre, there was heartbreak for Vettel as a 13 second stop sent him from 4th to 14th
However, Bottas buckled under pressure on lap 43 and dropped 2 wheels in the gravel. Verstappen lunged early and looked like he may have spoiled his chance, but made a stunning overtake around the outside of turn 1.
Just behind, Raikkonen managed an incredible 50 laps on his medium tyres and was running 4th before his eventual pit stop. This placed him 12th, behind Russell, looking strong for points.
Chaotic Finale
Suddenly, drama on lap 51 as Verstappen’s rear tyre shredded, bringing out the safety car. This caused a huge commotion as all the cars came into pit, bar Hamilton who missed the pit entry.
Under safety car conditions, Russell lost control of his car and crashed out of 10th place. This was his best opportunity to score points so far this year. The TV screens showed how despondent the British driver was as he sat, dejected, by the side of the track.
The safety car stayed out until lap 58 giving 6 laps of chaos at the end. Hamilton was able to maintain 1st from the damaged Bottas, but the final podium battle was intense. Ricciardo started the restart 3rd ahead of Leclerc and Kvyat. Perez, in 6th, had the freshest tyres and battled Albon into turn 5. He gained the position and Albon dropped his car into a spin with no contact. Kvyat took Leclerc and looked to challenge Ricciardo for the podium.
However, despite the gap staying at 0.5s, Ricciardo managed to take 3rd for the second time this season. Just behind Leclerc, who managed an impressive 5th ahead of a hard charging Perez. Sainz and Norris were next, improving upon their qualifying performance ahead of Raikkonen and Giovinazzi, scoring points for only the 4th time this season.
Mercedes take the accolades again with a 7th consecutive constructor’s trophy. Now it’s a question of when, instead of if, Hamilton takes his 7th world championship.
Full race standings:
- Hamilton
- Bottas +5.783
- Ricciardo +14.320
- Kvyat +15.141
- Leclerc +19.111
- Perez +19.652
- Sainz +20.230
- Norris +21.131
- Raikkonen +22.224
- Giovinazzi +26.398
- Latifi +27.135
- Vettel +28.453
- Stroll +29.163
- Grosjean +32.935
- Albon +57.284
- Russell RET
- Verstappen RET
- Magnussen RET
- Ocon RET
- Gasly RET
Featured Image Credit: @F1 Official Twitter
