Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel entered the round leading the World Drivers' Championship by one point ahead of Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton.

Massa did not feel any better during Practice 3, and his seat was taken by Williams reserve driver Paul di Resta for qualifying and the race.

[8] In the first segment of qualifying, Williams reserve driver di Resta made his first start since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix and quickly got up to speed with little prior practice.

[9] Di Resta qualified 19th in a car with Massa's settings, a performance that was described as "unbelievable" by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

Being forced off the track by Bottas, Verstappen went onto the curbs and was almost passed by his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

Romain Grosjean pitted on lap 21 with a slow leak on front left tyre and was released with a loose wheel-nut.

He was instructed to avoid the kerbs and his lap times slowed, allowing teammate Kimi Räikkönen and the two Mercedes to catch up.

Lap 44, still having radio issues, Lewis Hamilton informed his engineer he had good pace and wanted around Valtteri Bottas.

With nine laps to go, Nico Hülkenberg was forced off track by Kevin Magnussen and subsequently had to retire his car due to issues with the brakes and the gearbox.

[15] With Verstappen closing in, it appeared as if the switch back was not going to happen, but coming out of the last corner on the last lap, Hamilton slowed down, allowing Bottas past to claim the podium.