In the meantime, Leclerc was chasing Hamilton for fifth place, but Hamilton’s car sustained damage from the debris of Sainz’s front wing. Pierre Gasly and George Russell were close behind, running three seconds adrift.
At the front, Verstappen gradually extended his lead, amassing a comfortable 10-second gap over Alonso. Ocon held onto third place, followed by Sainz, who received warnings about potential rain towards the end of the race. Despite team suggestions to pit and undercut Ocon, Sainz refused to do so for the second time, frustrating the Alpine driver.
Approaching the halfway point of the race, Alonso began to close the gap to Verstappen, taking advantage of the traffic as the hard tires on his car performed optimally. Verstappen and Hamilton, both on medium tires, were the first among the top-ten drivers to pit. Mercedes executed a perfect pit stop for Hamilton, allowing him to maintain his position but dropping from sixth to eighth. Ocon and Sainz followed suit, with Ocon managing to retain his position ahead of the Ferrari driver.
