Short VSC
Stroll loses some parts. A consequence of the Tsunoda incident. That’s why the VSC is coming out briefly. Bottas uses this for a stop, which thus remains in front of Perez. Happy timing for Mercedes. Now you have both cars behind Verstappen!
Red Bull reacts
A lap later, Verstappen also comes, who remains ahead of Hamilton. At the top are Perez and Bottas, both of whom have not yet been to the pits. So the field is a bit mixed up now. While Perez is now also coming, Bottas remains further out. Mercedes is apparently splitting the strategy.
Pit stops
Stroll and Gasly were in the pits by now. But nothing is happening up front. The longer the pilots drive here, the more it now looks like just one stop. In the beginning, the safety car naturally helped to protect the tires. But now comes Hamilton!
Hamilton P2
Now it has happened, Hamilton got P2 from Perez. The Mexican can counter the first time, but one lap later he has no chance. How fast can he get to Verstappen now? The gap is just under four seconds.
Punishment for Tsunoda
Ten-second penalty for colliding with Stroll. But it is only in P18 anyway, points should not be possible today – especially since its underbody is also damaged after the crash. Stroll, on the other hand, survived the incident well and is currently at P11. At the front everything is the same as before, even after the VSC.
VSC
And the next “interruption”. Schumacher and Raikkonen touch, and the front wing on the Haas breaks. This time, however, “only” the virtual safety car is out. Schumacher needs a new wing and of course falls back to last place. It was previously on P15. Annoying …
Verstappen stays in front
The Dutchman stays in front in the restart. Perez can defend himself against Hamilton behind it. Meanwhile there is an investigation against Tsunoda and Stroll. Incidentally, despite the incidents, all 20 drivers are still in the race.
Safety car
In turn 1 there was a crash between Stroll and Tsunoda. There is now too much kind of kindling on the route. The safety car is coming. Hamilton is now right behind the Red Bulls! Of course, that helps Norris, who is last but can now catch up again. Russell and Tsunoda also use the safety car to change tires.