By lap 21, Verstappen was reporting that his front left tire was “not feeling well”, while Russell stopped on the hard compound a lap later. There was a lot of activity in the pit lane, with Norris pitting immediately from second place, and McLaren rejoining the track in seventh place behind Perez.
Ferrari, on the other hand, appeared to be attempting to overcut given that Norris was stuck in traffic, but the Brit had already managed to clear Perez within a few laps. Piastri also returned to the track and stopped before passing Stroll for seventh place, with the Australian showing strong pace.
Race leader Verstappen stopped immediately, but the Scuderia brought in Leclerc one lap later, leaving Sainz and Hamilton in front, who had not yet pitted. Leclerc and Piastri quickly overtook Perez, with Sainz and Hamilton each making pit stops on lap 28.
Sainz finished sixth behind Piastri and Perez, which will no doubt be a blessing for the McLaren team as Ferrari now have to find a way to get past Red Bull. Further back, Tsunoda successfully overtook Sargent while Williams had not yet made a pit stop.
As the race headed towards the halfway point, Verstappen maintained his lead from Norris, Leclerc and Piastri, while Sainz edged Perez (albeit still in a long first stint) to take fifth place. The Mexican may be known for his “tire whisperer” qualities, but his series of hard runs seemed to be fading.
