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Lap 52/56: With a nine-second gap between Antonelli and Russell, and then a near-18-second gap to the Ferraris, our top four looks to be locked in. The only thing that might upset things from here.
Lap 51/56: Antonelli leads from Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc, Bearman, Gasly, Lawson, Hadjar, Sainz, and Colapinto.
Lap 50/56: Antonelli has a nearly ten second lead over Russell and while the Mercedes are still lapping faster than the Ferraris, the loss of some pace is going to open up for some intrigue surrounding tyre wear – Russell’s on the blower raising an issue with them.
Lap 49/56: Bearman remains in P5, the best of the rest behind the leading cohort of Mercedes and Ferraris. He’s followed by Gasly, Lawson, Hadjar, Sainz, and Colapinto.
Lap 48/56: Piastri makes his way through the media section; “Not exactly sure what it is, just know it is an electrical issue, something to do with the PU.
“It has been a while since I have watched two F1 races from the sidelines.”
Lap 47/56: Verstappen joins Alonso, Stroll, Piastri, Norris, Bortoleto, and Albon as DNFs from today.
Verstappen’s post-race comments could very well be box office.
Lap 46/56: Verstappen is limping, his whole dashboard turning off after he tried to fire out of a corner. He’s going to retire! There’s something obviously very wrong mechanically with the Red Bull, just what isn’t apparent, but that’s his race done.
Lap 45/56: Antonelli leads from Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc, Bearman, Verstappen, Gasly, Lawson, Hadjar, and Sainz.
Lap 44/56: Lindblad, who has run the entire race on hards so far, comes into the pits. That’s notable as the 44 laps he did on them is an approximation of what the leaders need to get out of theirs to avoid coming in again.
Lap 43/56: Antonelli has re-opened up a healthy gap on Russell atop the grid, the Brit having a bit of a harder time lapping the two Cadillacs than his teammate.
Lap 42/56: A small storyline, both Cadillacs remain out there on the track. Both Bottas and Perez are at the foot of the (remaining) cars but getting both to the line would be a big accomplishment for the new American team.
Lap 41/56: Alonso has made his way past the media following his retirement, explaining that he had to pull in because he lost feeling in his hands due to the vibrations in his car.
Leclerc is on the radio and… he’s having fun. “This is actually quite a fun battle.” Warra concept. Love it.
Lap 40/56: Hamilton takes P3 straight back off Leclerc on turn one, leading to the Monegasques to get straight back on his tail once more.
Antonelli has a six and a half second lead from Russell, with a 12 second gap then to the two Ferraris. Bearman is fifth, followed by Verstappen, Gasly, Lawson, Hadjar, and Sainz.
Lap 39/56: A new set of tyres being prepared in the Ferrari garage as Leclerc darts past Hamilton on the penultimate corner.
Lap 38/56: Pontifications on the broadcast about when/if the Ferrari garage is going to get on the blower and request their two drivers maybe calm their farms a little bit, lest one of them, or both of them, run into an issue that ends their race.
Lap 37/56: Antonelli leads from Russell, with a healthy gap now open to the Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc.
Nearly 19 seconds back of the two Ferraris, Bearman and his Haas are in P5, followed by Verstappen, Gasly, Lawson, Hadjar, and Sainz.
Lap 36/56: Leclerc, not having complained about a lack of power like Hamilton, tries to immediately reclaim P3 but his veteran teammate is able to hold him off as the crowd roars in approval.
Lap 35/56: Russell is closing the gap on Antonelli but not really at a pace that suggests he’s going to be overhaul him without something else happening.
Hamilton is on the radio, saying he’s got no power. “Negative, we are looking into it,” is the response from the garage.
He doesn’t need power, though, to overtake Leclerc when he locks up.
Lap 34/56: Alonso has come into the pits, with Aston Martin’s miserable season continuing as it looks like he’s set to retire.
Doesn’t look like a safety car is going to be needed after the clash between Ocon and Colapinto.
Lap 33/56: Some of our hard tyre drivers are coming in, with Colapinto diving into the pits.
And then Ocon has had a collision with Colapinto after he comes out and there’s damage to his body. Safety car? That would throw the cat amongst the pigeons.
Lap 32/56: Antonelli sets a new fastest lap of the race, the clear air in front of him and the rocket ship beneath him giving him as leisurely a drive one can hope for in F1.
Lap 31/56: A slight little lock-up from Leclerc allows Hamilton to close the gap slightly on him in the battle for P3.
Lap 30/56: Ocon comes into the pitch, emerging at the back of the gird in his Haas on mediums.
Antonelli remains well in front, unworried and unconcerned with the battle behind him.
Lap 29/56: Russell gets on the radio, telling his garage that the Ferraris are fast in all the right places – frustrating his efforts to overtake them. But he finally finds an opening on a straight and darts ahead.
Antonelli leads from Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, Bearman, Verstappen, Gasly, Colapinto, Ocon, and Hulkenberg.
Lap 28/56: Lindblad has spun out on turn 14, sending him down to the back of the pack.
Amid all the excitement of the three-way dance between Leclerc, Russell, and Hamilton, Antonelli has looked after his tyres and opened up a nearly eight-second gap on the trio.
Lap 27/56: Hamilton goes past Leclerc! And then Leclerc goes past Hamilton with a battery boost! And then here comes Russell to feast upon Hamilton’s depleted battery, moving into P3.
Lap 26/56: Hamilton gets past Leclerc on the lead, only for the latter to dart right back around him on the home straight to reclaim it. They continue to go hammer and tongs on the subsequent corners, with Russell watching on.
Lap 25/56: There’s contact between the Ferraris as Leclerc and Hamilton battle for P2, with Russell eager to feast on the scraps. He’s held off by Hamilton’s inside line, for now, and then perhaps doesn’t have the energy to press for a further overtake as the lap wears on.
Antonelli is four seconds ahead of this excitement, well-placed in his quest to go coast-to-coast from pole.
Lap 24/56: Norris is on the broadcast, stopping by to speak to media after failing to start.
“Just frustrating, it is on the PU side so the guys tried as hard as they could to get things sorted but they were unable to. It’s my first DNS in F1, so it’s tough to take – but that is racing sometimes.”
Lap 23/56: Antonelli leads from Hamilton, Leclerc, Russell, Bearman, Verstappen, Colapinto, Ocon, Gasly and Hulkenberg.
Lap 22/56: Verstappen is under investigation from the stewards for his overtake on Gasly, with the Alpine driver getting on the radio straight after the incident, which looked like it had a bit of contact, to say that it wasn’t a fair overtake.
Richard Woods has emailed in, observing that “The Alpine of Colapinto and the Haas of Ocon” sound like the villains in a Michael Moorcock novel.
Lap 21/56: Russell has his sights firmly set on Leclerc, who is doing everything he can to hold him off. A second ahead of them in P2, Hamilton is a second-and-a-half back of race-leader Antonelli.
Lap 20/56: Bearman and Ocon are really battling it out, Haas solidarity be damnded, but Colapinto, despite being on the oldest tyres of anyone out there, retains hold of P5.
Lap 19/56: Antonelli leads from Hamilton, Leclerc, Russell, Colapinto, Bearman, Ocon, Verstappen, Gasly, and Hulkenberg.
It’s a rip-roaring battle down the bottom of the top ten, while the top four are separating themselves.
Lap 18/56: Hamilton is getting on the radio asking for more power, to which his garage replies “We’re on it.”
Word from Aston Martin is that Stroll suffered from a “battery issue” that led to his retirement.
Lap 17/56: Russell moves past Colapinto for P4, with Anontelli, Hamilton, and Leclrec making up the podium in front of him. The young Italian has opened up a gap of nearly a second on the veteran Brit.
Colapinto sits in P5, followed by Ocon, Bearman, Lindblad, Gasly, and Verstappen.
Lap 16/56: Leclerc moves around Calapinto and secures P3, as Hamilton in front of him applies some serious pressure to Antonelli.
Russell has got around Ocon for P5, with Colapinto now in front of him but he’s looked quite a bit of space on Antonelli in front of him.
Bearman moves past Lindblad, with Gasly ninth, and Hulkenberg rounding out the top ten.
Lap 15/56: Hamilton gets around the inside of Colapinto and moves into second, with Antonelli in his sights.
“We’ve got no f***ing grip” Russell says on the radio, who remains in P6.
Lap 14/56: Hamilton is all over the back of Russell and overtakes him as the Mercedes struggles to get past Ocon and Colapinto in front of him. Hamilton then gets around Ocon to move into P3 and put a car between he and Russell.
Leclerc gets around Lindblad and then overtakes Russell for P5! A good re-start for the Ferraris.
Lap 13/56: The safety car is coming in.
Meanwhile, word on the radio for Verstappen (as we watch a miserable looking Piastri, flanked by an enormous bodyguard, zipping up his jacket on the broadcast) is that his tyres need to last him the rest of the race.
Lap 12/56: Hadjar is back at the tail end of the (remaining) grid after not having the best of second pits – previously forced to come in after his bingle on lap one.
Antonelli leads from Colapinto and Ocon – both of whom are on hard tyres and stayed out there – followed by Russell, Hamitlon, Lindblad, Leclerc, Hulkenberg, Gasly, and Bearman.
The safety car is still out there as Stroll’s stricken Aston Martin is lifted off the track.
Lap 11/56: The safety car sees Antonelli, Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc all dive into the pits. The 19-year-old comes back out in first-place but it’s now the Alpine of Colapinto and the Haas of Ocon that round out the podium.
Verstappen, burning a pit stop moments before the safety car, will be steaming.
Confirmation that Stroll is out of the race.
