Hamilton's strong start fades as tyre wear and pace drop

Lewis Hamilton started from P20 and climbed to P9 on the opening lap, gaining 11 places, but his progress stalled soon afterwards. Telemetry data from the race shows he was slower than Max Verstappen during the opening intermediate stint, with a particularly large gap on Lap 8.

The data points to traction problems on the exits of Turns 3 and 5, where Hamilton was slower to reach full throttle. The analysis suggests he overheated his rear tyres early in the race while attempting to gain positions, after which his pace on the intermediates dropped sharply and he slipped back to P14.

Hamilton later pitted early for soft tyres as the track dried, rising to 11th. However, his pace on the soft compound was also sluggish, and he was held up behind Arvid Lindblad's Racing Bulls from Lap 18 before making a pass. He finished ninth.