As Russell and Hamilton began to build up a significant lead over Verstappen, the latter was warned over the radio that rain could start in 25 minutes. Elsewhere, Sargeant informed his engineer that Williams team-mate Albon appeared to have lost some bodywork, with the Thai driver running ahead of the American in 12th and 13th places respectively.
While Gasly was confirmed as the first retiree due to a gearbox problem, it was announced that Hulkenberg was a known candidate for running off the track and gaining an advantage, although this was not subsequently investigated. Replays showed that the Haas car’s return to the circuit on lap 1 ahead of Alonso resulted in contact between the Aston Martin and Albon’s Williams.
After seven laps, Russell remained 1.7 seconds ahead of Hamilton in the lead, with Verstappen still in third, ahead of Norris, Piastri and Sainz. Stroll meanwhile was under pressure in seventh place from a chasing Leclerc, the Monegasque clearly looking to make up for his disappointing qualifying.
There was some overtaking at the back of the field, with Ricciardo taking 14th place from Zhou, who appeared to be struggling on the soft tyre, while Perez had gained a place by overtaking Ocon to move up to 16th.
“Rain is expected over seven laps, lasting 10 minutes,” Leclerc was informed as some grey cloud continued to hang over the circuit, with Norris’ engineer telling the McLaren man they would “keep it simple” when it came to making their strategy decisions once the showers arrived.