Just behind, Verstappen and Norris raised heart rates at Red Bull and McLaren by going wheel-to-wheel in the first sector, remaining P5 and P6 respectively from Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Piastri and Hamilton, as Lawson and Magnussen had their own close battle in the midfield.
By Lap 4, Leclerc was all over the back of Russell and came close to pulling off a move at Turn 14, where Verstappen slipped past Gasly for P4, and the Mercedes man was then forced to go defensive through Turn 1 at the start of Lap 5 to keep the Ferrari behind.
Alonso gained several spots in the opening laps, only for the gamble to seemingly backfire when he pitted early to ditch his soft rubber, but there was a greater problem for Piastri when the stewards handed him a five-second time penalty for an incorrect starting position.
After such a strong start to the race, Leclerc’s pace dramatically dropped off a cliff – allowing Sainz and Verstappen to slot ahead in quick succession. Meanwhile, Hamilton put a move on Piastri for eighth position, and Norris found his way past Gasly for P5.
Only 10 laps in, Leclerc pitted to swap his troubled medium tyres for a set of hards, along with Norris. One tour later, Sainz, Gasly, Tsunoda and Piastri did the same, leaving Russell and Verstappen on their own up front, and promoting a flying Hamilton to third.
