Fernando Alonso started from P17 but made a slow getaway and lost two positions. At Turn 1 immediately afterwards, Carlos Sainz (Williams) made contact with Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls). Alonso, just behind and to the right, braked hard to avoid the incident. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll, starting from P21, dived down the inside at Turn 1 and overtook two cars, including Alonso, through the chicane to move up to P19.

At the entrance to the Turns 5–6 chicane, which follows the gentle Turn 4, Stroll on the inside and Alonso on the outside entered side by side. The two made light contact at the exit of Turn 6, with debris coming off one of the cars, but both continued, Stroll in P19 and Alonso in P20. On Lap 3, Stroll ran out of electrical energy at the exit of Turn 12, La Monumental, the Madring’s signature corner with a maximum banking angle of 24%, and his rear light began flashing. Alonso rapidly closed the gap and overtook Stroll on the short straight to Turn 13, swapping their positions.

On Lap 6, Alonso and Stroll both overtook Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), who had slowed with a car problem, gaining one position each. On Lap 8, Stroll again ran out of electrical energy at the exit of Turn 12 and was passed by Oliver Bearman (Haas), who had started from the pit lane.

On Lap 12, Alonso attempted to overtake Carlos Sainz (Williams) down the inside at Turn 4 after Sainz had run out of electrical energy. However, as Sainz moved across while checking his right-hand mirror, his right-rear tyre made contact with Alonso’s left-front wing. Alonso damaged the front-wing endplate, and the broken part was scraping against the track and producing sparks at high speed, but he continued.

On Lap 13, Stroll, who was experiencing a problem with the car, was unable to slow sufficiently for Turn 20 and took to the escape road to avoid hitting the wall. He was unable to rejoin the circuit and retired from the race. A Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed to allow Stroll’s car to be moved to a safe location, and Alonso, like several other drivers, pitted. He had his damaged front wing replaced and switched from hard to soft tyres, returning to the track in P20 at the back of the field.

On Lap 24, Alonso overtook Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) at Turn 4. With Sainz also making a pit stop, Alonso moved up to P18. He then overtook Sergio Perez (Cadillac) on the main straight on Lap 30 to take P17.

Alonso made another pit stop on Lap 37, switching from soft to hard tyres. He rejoined in P17 and completed the final stint without any further changes of position, finishing the race in P17.

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