The Dutchman enjoyed a strong start from the pole as the 50-lap race got underway and, from there, held an assured lead, despite an early Safety Car sparking a flurry of action in the pit lane where Red Bull was amongst the teams to risk a double-stack strategy.
Sergio Perez came home in P2 to mark the squad’s second consecutive one-two result. The Mexican was handed a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release into Fernando Alonso’s path during that busy visit to the pits. Still, he held enough gap to third-placed Charles Leclerc to keep his position.
Leclerc completed the podium ahead of Oscar Piastri in fourth. The Australian had spent a significant portion of the race trying to find a way past Lewis Hamilton, one of the few drivers in the field to stay out during the early run of pit stops.
Fernando Alonso held onto fifth as the sole Aston Martin to remain in the race, with teammate Lance Stroll having been the cause of the Safety Car call-out following a crash into the barriers on Lap 7. Alonso had withheld pressure from the Mercedes of George Russell in the latter stages, but the Briton ultimately had to settle for sixth.
It was a memorable Formula 1 debut for Oliver Bearman, standing in for Carlos Sainz at Ferrari after the Spaniard was diagnosed with appendicitis earlier on Friday. The youngster scored his first points by securing P7 during an impressive drive in which he took several overtakes.
Bearman led a pack of British drivers, with Lando Norris ending the day in P8 ahead of Hamilton in P9. Norris and Hamilton had stretched out their opening stints on the medium tyre before making pit stops in the race’s second half.
Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10 to score Haas’s first point of the season. The German also opted not to pit during the initial round of stops, aided by a team strategy that saw Kevin Magnussen keep a pack of drivers at bay behind to give Hulkenberg space when returning to the track from his eventual pit stop.
Alex Albon missed points in P11 despite making some solid moves in that midfield fight, including an overtake on Yuki Tsunoda. Magnussen took P12 in an eventful evening for the Dane, having been handed two separate 10-second time penalties.
Esteban Ocon was the sole Alpine to finish in P13, while Tsunoda was the lead RB in P14. The Williams of Logan Sargeant followed in P15, with Daniel Ricciardo behind in what was a quiet afternoon for the Australian in P16, barring a spin on the final lap of the event.
The Kick Sauber duo of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu were the last drivers to finish in 17th and 18th, respectively.
Stroll was one of the two to retire following that early crash, while Pierre Gasly’s race was practically over before it started. The Frenchman retired soon after the start, having reported a gearbox issue on the Formation Lap.
