[7] At the end of the second practice session Sergio Pérez failed to stop when instructed at the weigh bridge and he was therefore required to start the race from the pit lane.

[8] On the opening lap Valtteri Bottas maintained his lead going into the first corner and Charles Leclerc lost 4th place to Lewis Hamilton at turn 1.

By the start of the second lap Vettel had dropped to 7th place losing positions to Max Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo.

On lap 8, Vettel, still in 7th place, ran over a bumpy section of kerb on the exit of turn 9 causing his right-rear suspension to fail.

Hamilton, who was leading the race, was told by his team to pit on lap 23 to avoid holding up teammate, Bottas, who was close behind.

The kerb on the exit of turn 9 continued to cause problems for other drivers after ending Vettel's race, with Sainz suffering bodywork damage on lap 34 after driving over it.

Hamilton began to question his team's strategy, claiming over the radio that he was unsure if his tyres could make it to the end of the race.

However Albon would later have to make a third pit stop, after which he re-passed Sergio Pérez, Pierre Gasly, Sainz, Norris and finally Ricciardo again on lap 48 to reclaim 5th place.

However, Verstappen's charge was halted when on the penultimate lap Kevin Magnussen, who was in 16th place, suffered a brake failure at turn 12 and spun into the gravel.