Nearly the entire field, including Hamilton and Verstappen, was allowed to switch to the hard tyre, leaving Russell stranded without the hope of others pitting.
On the second restart, Hamilton converted first on the grid into the lead, while a struggling Verstappen just held off Alonso, as further back Nyck De Vries briefly went off track after contact with Esteban Ocon.
Verstappen homed in on Hamilton though and by lap 12 was able to easily breeze by down the back straight wth the aid of DRS.
“Max is in another league because his car is so fast,” said Hamilton when interviewed after the race finish. “I mean, he passed me halfway down the street and he was several metres ahead – like 10 metres ahead. I don’t know how they’re so quick on the straight.”
“We will always there waiting for the DRS to open up to have a chance to pass,” said Verstappen. “I think the pace of the car was quick, you can see that straight away.”
Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez were providing the entertainment by slicing through the field, as Hamilton lost contact with the leading Red Bull.
On lap 18 events turned again: Russell, who had climbed to fifth, pulled over on the main straight with his Mercedes a blaze, reporting a power unit failure.
“When it’s not your day it’s just not your day,” he wrote on social media afterwards, bringing out a virtual safety car.
Alonso tried to hurry Hamilton, with his Mercedes team warning him: “Alonso keeps trying to push you to use your tyres. Let’s not fall for it.”
“I think ultimately he was a little bit quicker today behind me but I just managed to hold him off,” commented Hamilton post-race.