Both McLaren drivers spun at the penultimate corner. Norris was able to rejoin and dive into the pits for intermediate tyres, but Piastri was stuck on the grass. There was a degree of black comedy as he sat on the grass, his tyres spinning furiously, before finally managing to reverse back on to the track.
Verstappen stayed out and took the lead for two laps, but as the rain intensified, he eventually had to admit defeat and stop.
This was when Ferrari made their fateful error, leaving Hamilton and Leclerc out, to assume first and second places, only to immediately lose them as they scrabbled for grip for a lap and had to pit anyway.
Liam Lawson then crashed his Red Bull, a disappointing end to a difficult first race for the senior team, and Gabriel Bortoleto blotted an otherwise strong start to his career for Sauber, and the safety car was deployed again.
When the race restarted with five laps to go, Norris initially made a third consecutive excellent restart and built a lead over Verstappen.
Source link : https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/articles/cr421xe109qo
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Publish date : 2025-03-16 06:52:09
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