RED BULL will launch an investigation into their own mistake that aided Lewis Hamilton. But he was given a major boost by Red Bull’s slow pit stop for Verstappen’s team-mate and local hero Sergio Perez. The 5.3-second stop – significantly longer than Red Bull’s usual speedy pits – was critical in allowing Hamilton to avoid the undercut and pip the Mexican to P2. Red Bull put ‘Checo’ on the medium tyres in an attempt to put pressure on Hamilton, who was racing on hards. “Unfortunately, he was 0.03 of a second off [Hamilton] when he wanted to get the DRS, and so he just wasn’t quite within range.

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