After a lengthy delay for barrier repairs, the teams finally got the green light to change tires in the pits. It was interesting to see Lewis Hamilton and George Russell from Mercedes opting for the hard compound, while Fernando Alonso, holding fifth place, stuck with his choice of softs.
Verstappen once again took the lead from the 18-car standing restart, with Perez, Norris, Sainz, and Alonso following closely. There was some drama as the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon made contact on the run to Turn 1, and Russell lost ground to Yuki Tsunoda’s RB after a lock-up and running wide. However, he managed to reclaim his position a lap later.
Verstappen extended his lead when Perez went wide at Degner 2 on lap six.
Norris was the first among the frontrunners to pit, relinquishing third place on lap 12, followed by his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri a lap later. Alonso, who had climbed to fourth, ditched his softs on lap 14.
On lap 14, there was a swap between the Mercedes duo, with Hamilton allowing the faster Russell to take the lead.
Verstappen had a comfortable lead of over 5 seconds when Perez pitted on lap 16, followed by third-placed Sainz.
Verstappen delayed his stop until lap 17, rejoining just ahead of Norris, who had passed Hamilton, yet to pit, around the outside of Turn 1. Meanwhile, Perez, who had lost his second-place spot to Norris, managed to overtake Hamilton at 130R.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari led for a couple of laps with a long stint, but Verstappen passed him at the start of lap 21 to reclaim the lead. Sainz then faced delays passing the Mercedes duo, falling 7 seconds behind Perez.
Leclerc, on well-worn medium tires, briefly went off at Degner 2 just before halfway, allowing Perez back into second. However, Perez was already over 10 seconds behind Verstappen.
Leclerc pitted for the first time on lap 27, the same lap as Norris for his second stop, with Russell splitting the pair as they rejoined. Norris later passed Russell around the outside of Turn 1.
Perez made his final stop on lap 34, rejoining behind Norris, while Verstappen stayed out for one more lap before making his stop. Perez managed to overtake Norris with DRS on the run to Turn 1 on lap 35 and replicated the move on Leclerc on the following lap.
Carlos Sainz, now leading, ran into trouble with his worn tires, locking up and straightlining the chicane, which forced him to pit on the next lap. This dropped him back to seventh, but with fresher tires, he launched a comeback.
Sainz quickly passed Hamilton and chased down Norris, eventually overtaking him for fourth place with nine laps remaining. He then took third from his one-stopping teammate Leclerc, passing him with DRS on the run to Turn 1 for the final podium spot.
Verstappen cruised to another victory, finishing 12 seconds ahead of Perez, with Sainz securing third ahead of Leclerc. Norris finished fifth, followed by a fierce battle for sixth between Alonso, Piastri, and Russell.
There was drama as Piastri and Russell clashed at the chicane with five laps to go, but Piastri made a crucial mistake on the final lap, allowing Russell to snatch seventh on the run to Turn 1.