After leading from the start, Verstappen was 3.5 seconds ahead of Hamilton when Mercedes pulled the seven-time champion in for a pit stop on lap 20, too early for the predicted one-stop race. But Mercedes missed the chance and, in three laps from lap 36 to lap 39, Verstappen pulled a further second clear, at which point Mercedes pitted Hamilton. Hamilton complained that Mercedes had stopped him too early, then that his tyres would not go to the end. Hamilton closed in again to just over a second behind Verstappen as they lapped other cars, but dropped back again once they were back on a clear track. It mattered not – Hamilton pitted on the next lap and reclaimed the point from his team-mate.

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