George Russell wins the second Grand Prix of his career after an ending which saw Verstappen and Norris crash whilst fighting for the win.
The start saw drivers jostle about in order to try and gain whatever positions they could, including Russell having a look at stealing 2nd place away from Norris. Russell was unsuccessful in this attempt, and the squabbling between the two drivers allowed Verstappen to quickly build a gap that broke DRS, allowing him to easily build a gap over the coming laps. Elsewhere in turn 1, Leclerc got pinched at the first corner, damaging his front wing and forcing repairs to be made early on, compromising his race. Furthermore, Perez had forced Piastri wide to take 6th briefly, though Piastri would get back through not too long after.
It looked as though the race would be a forgone conclusion, with Verstappen increasing his lead to Norris to two seconds, then three, four, five and six over the opening stint. Norris was also able to pull away from Russell behind.
Fortunately, there were still battles behind. Early on, Sainz and Hamilton had a bit of a scrap, especially after Hamilton conceded fourth to Sainz after leaving the track and gaining an advantage at turn 1, but even then Sainz would begin to pull away.
Pit stops would come around rather early, with some such as Ricciardo and Magnussen coming in as early as lap 10. Hamilton would come in on lap 21, now more so in a fight with Piastri over 5th, but would make a minor error on pit entry, crossing the white line and getting a five second penalty for his troubles.
The second stints for most drivers was on the hard tyres, which were not that great of a tyre compared to the mediums. One driver who particularly struggled on this compound was Max Verstappen, who was worried that he’d even keep the cars he lapped behind him. It also meant that Norris was making some minor inroads on his friend and rival, though not by significant margins. It would take a big error from Verstappen or his team to get Norris back into the fight for the win.
Luckily for Norris, a big error would come. When both drivers came in for their second stops on lap 52, Norris was able to gain about four seconds on Verstappen after issues with getting the right rear tyre onto the Red Bull car. Verstappen would also then go on to lock up at turn 4 on his outlap, and with fresh tyres compared to Verstappen’s used, Norris was able to make a strong charge forward, getting into the DRS very quickly.
However, as is often the case in F1, catching the car ahead is one thing, passing them is another. Norris would make his first move for the lead on lap 55, but a reactive defensive move from Verstappen that saw him moving under braking kept him in the lead. Norris was understandably unhappy.
Norris had built up three track limit warnings over the course of the race up to this point, meaning he would have to be careful for the rest of the race. Therefore more jeopardy must have been added to Norris’ race once he made his 2nd attempt for the lead on lap 59, which saw him go too deep and go off track at turn 3. A 5 second penalty was sure to arrive, and Norris had to get by soon to build up a gap if he wanted to win this race.
Things came to a head on lap 64. Norris now opted to take the outside line at turn 3, though Verstappen would once again move under braking, squeezing Norris on the outside causing the two to make contact. Both would need to come into the pits, Verstappen to replace a punctured tyre, and Norris needing to retire as the damage gained was too great. Verstappen would gain a 10 second penalty for the incident.
This contact meant that Russell, who had been in third place and 15 seconds behind the fight for the lead, was now in prime position to take the 2nd win of his career, being 3 seconds ahead of Piastri. He was able to hold off the nerves and prevent Piastri from making any significant gains in the dying laps, and was able to cross the chequered flag for what is his and Mercedes’ first win since the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix.
It will be interesting to see how both Red Bull and McLaren will respond following this result heading into the British Grand Prix, which takes place next weekend at Silverstone to round out the first triple header of the season.
