The race had already been twice interrupted by virtual safety car activations, which put Verstappen and Sainz on different two-stop versus a likely one-stop strategy for the Ferrari ahead of the closing stages, before the safety car closed them up and set up a straight fight for the victory on the same hard tyres, albeit with the Spaniard on younger rubber.
Behind, Fernando Alonso's front row start became a seventh-place finish for Alpine behind Mercedes drivers Hamilton and George Russell, while Charles Leclerc's recovery drive from the back of the grid finished with fifth place.
