Race report Russell made a quick getaway off the starting grid to take the lead of the Grand Prix at turn 1, with teammate
Valtteri Bottas behind in second. A three-way fight for third began behind the two
Mercedes, between Leclerc, Verstappen and Pérez. As the three navigated turn four, Leclerc braked late and hit Pérez, causing the Mexican to spin and damaging Leclerc's front left suspension. Verstappen slowed and took the turn wide, but could not turn in time to avoid the barrier on the outside of the turn. The incident triggered a
safety car. Leclerc and Verstappen retired, but Pérez was able to rejoin and, after a tyre change, ran at the back of the field. After the race, Leclerc was penalised three grid spots for the
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for his part in the incident. The safety car was withdrawn on lap 7 with Russell gradually widening his lead from Bottas. Behind them,
Carlos Sainz Jr. and
Lance Stroll, as well as
AlphaTauri and
Renault's drivers completed the top eight. Pérez made his way up into a points-paying tenth position by lap 20. By lap 50, all teams had made their first round of pit stops. The top three were Russell, Bottas, and
McLaren's
Carlos Sainz Jr. Pérez, having taken a second stop for fresh tyres, ran in ninth. With the leaders on lap 54,
Nicholas Latifi retired his
Williams from 13th place, after turn 8 with an oil leak, triggering a
virtual safety car (VSC). Several drivers behind the two leading Mercedes pitted for tyres. Sainz and
Daniel Ricciardo were caught out by how brief the VSC was, and dropped down the order as they pitted under racing conditions. Pérez, who did not pit during this safety car period, made his way up to third, with
Esteban Ocon's Renault in fourth and
Lance Stroll in fifth. Russell was sent out illegally with Bottas's front tyres, and Bottas remained in the pit box for nearly half a minute before being sent out with the same tyres he had come in on, after Mercedes realised the error. Russell was then forced to pit again on the next lap to fit a set of his own tyres. The Mercedes pit errors left Bottas in fourth and Russell in fifth, behind Pérez, Ocon, and Stroll in the top three positions. Pérez won the Grand Prix for Racing Point, the first victory of his 190-race career. Of the team's predecessors,
Jordan Grand Prix last won a race at the
2003 Brazilian Grand Prix. Ocon achieved his first Formula One podium. Racing Point's double-podium finish gave them 40 points and moved them back up into third in the Constructors' Championship, Russell said that he felt he had the pace to win. Russell also impressed Mercedes with how he coped with the pressure of the weekend in general. Russell's regular team, Williams, admitted that they missed his input during the weekend. The win for Pérez meanwhile loudened the calls for him to be given a seat at Red Bull for 2021 in place of incumbent Albon. The poor performance of Bottas compared to Russell led to criticism both from the media and from Mercedes themselves. The pit stop mix-ups at Mercedes were put down to a radio failure. Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo was left frustrated after feeling his team gave rivals Racing Point the opportunity to win with strategic errors. Following the Mercedes tyre mix-up, the
FIA tweaked the tyre usage rules for
2021 so that driver/team would no longer face the risk of being disqualified for putting the incorrect tyres on the car.
Race classification ; Notes • – Includes one point for fastest lap. ==Championship standings after the race==