The drivers at the front of the grid got away fairly equally. George Russell had a slightly better start than Oscar Piastri, allowing him to pull alongside the McLaren. Piastri moved to block the incoming Mercedes and Russell had to back out. The Brit had to take evasive action by cutting the first chicane and damaging the front endplate on one of the marker boards in the runoff area, dropping him down to P7. He would stay in front of Sergio Perez for the first ten laps of the race, but eventually pit for a new wing when passed by Perez on lap 11.
Lando Norris maintained his lead off the starting grid, but it was short-lived. Piastri was brave on the brakes into the second chicane, lunging around the outside of his teammate in a sensational move to take the lead. Norris’ exit from the chicane was slightly compromised, letting Charles Leclerc strike and take P2 from the Brit.
Further back, Nico Hulkenberg kicked up some dust when he was squeezed off the circuit by Daniel Ricciardo under braking for Ascari. The Sauber-bound Haas driver was lucky to save the car. The move earned Ricciardo a five-second time penalty for forcing another driver off the circuit. That would turn into another ten-second penalty when he pitted later in the race, as a crew member touched the front wing during the pit stop, failing to serve the penalty correctly.
Hulkenberg clashed with RB again a few laps later, but this time Yuki Tsunoda. The Haas driver tried to make a late dive into the first corner but locked up and slammed into the side of the RB. Tsunoda eventually retired and Hulkenberg had to pit for a new front wing. The stewards gave the German a ten-second time penalty.
Back at the front, Norris was the first of the top three drivers to pit in an attempt to undercut Leclerc. He came into the pits extremely hot, locking up the tyres and clipping the marker board at the pit speed limit line. He managed to slow the car down to the speed limit, avoiding a penalty. The undercut worked, putting Norris ahead of Leclerc when the Ferrari driver pitted the following lap. Leclerc was unhappy with the strategy call from the Ferrari pit wall, believing they should have stayed out.
Looking to rescue what has been a difficult weekend for the championship leaders, Red Bull had to try something different with the strategy. They had started the race on the hard compound tyres when the drivers around had started on the mediums. They locked themselves into a two-stop race early on, taking another set of hard tyres in the first round of pit stops, opting not to split the strategy between the two cars. Unfortunately for Max Verstappen, the first Red Bull pit stop was slow due to an issue on the right-rear tyre.
Having pitted two laps after his teammate, Piastri returned to the lead after the round of pit stops. Despite initially being warned that he may need to defend his teammate from the cars behind, Norris was eventually cleared to race the other McLaren using “Papaya rules”. Norris didn’t get close enough and fell away as his hard tyres degraded. A mistake in the second chicane put Leclerc right on the gearbox of Norris and McLaren called him into the pits for a second pit stop.
He rejoined the race behind Verstappen, who was told to race the incoming McLaren despite still having to make another pit stop. Norris spent many laps behind the Red Bull, losing time to Piastri before finally getting by in the first corner with just over ten laps remaining in the race.
Piastri had a strong lead out front but was doubtful when asked if he could do the one-stop strategy. He pitted for a second set of hard tyres on lap 39, unleashing Leclerc and Carlos Sainz into a Ferrari 1-2. With nothing to lose and their home crowd cheering them on, the Ferrari pit wall took the gamble on the one-stop strategy.
Drivers on the fresher tyres were setting lap times much faster than Leclerc. This included Piastri, who was setting many fast laps and looking to be on track to retake the lead of the race. All that stood between Piastri and the top step of the podium was the Ferrari on Sainz. Sainz did a superb job fending off the threat of the McLarens. Although both McLarens were able to sneak by in the closing stages of the race, neither one was close enough to challenge the leading Ferrari of Leclerc.
As the laps ticked down, the Tifosi were cheering louder and louder until they erupted into a roar that could be heard around the world when Leclerc crossed the line to take the chequered flag. The McLarens had to settle for the other two steps of the podium and no team orders were issued to swap the drivers, which will not help Norris’ championship bid.
There will be plenty of time for Ferrari to soak up this victory. The next race will mark the start of a back-to-back street circuit stint. First up is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 15.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 53 | 1:14:40.727 | 25 | ||
| 2 | 53 | +2.664 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 53 | +6.153 | 16 |  | |
| 4 | 53 | +15.621 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 53 | +22.820 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 53 | +37.932 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 53 | +39.715 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 53 | +54.148 | 4 | ||
| 9 | 53 | +67.456 | 2 | ||
| 10 | 53 | +68.302 | 1 | ||
| 11 | 53 | +68.495 | |||
| 12 | 53 | +81.308 | |||
| 13 | 53 | +93.452 | |||
| 14 | 52 | +1 Lap | |||
| 15 | 52 | +1 Lap | |||
| 16 | 52 | +1 Lap | |||
| 17 | 52 | +1 Lap | |||
| 18 | 52 | +1 Lap | |||
| 19 | 52 | +1 Lap | |||
| DNF | 7 |
