After all that pit lane activity and another round of fast laps from the race leader, Norris had a lead of almost 10 seconds over Verstappen. Leclerc was six seconds further back in third, Russell was a further four seconds behind and Piastri was closing fast on the Mercedes driver.

While Gasly and Alpine avoided further action after their near-miss, Stroll was given a five-second time penalty after speeding in the pit lane. Replays show he blocked and failed to slow down sufficiently at the starting line.

Piastri continued to make good use of his new tyres, passing Russell on the outside into Turn 1 to move up to fourth. Meanwhile, the still-unstoppable Magnussen in the midfield was overrun by Albon, Gasly, Alonso and Stroll on the final corner, setting up a dramatic sequence.

Gasly won a wheel-to-wheel battle with Albon into the first corner, with the latter complaining on the radio about what he felt was a “dangerous” situation. Alonso and Stroll soon worked their way past the Williams man, while Magnussen finally stopped for fresh tyres.

By lap 45, Norris had extended his lead to 12 seconds, with Verstappen managing the gap to Leclerc, Piastri chasing the Ferrari and Russell in fifth. A few seconds back, Perez had his hands full defending against Sainz, who was looking left, right and centre for a pass.