Max Verstappen gathered a 1m16.547s on softs shortly after Lance Stroll went to the top of the times, before the Dutchman's lap was then overcome by Charles Leclerc's 1m16.406s. The Monegasque's spell at the top was short as George Russell went 0.094s faster, but Oscar Piastri then rounded his first soft-tyre lap with a 1m16.240s.

Since then, Max Verstappen has finally confirmed his immediate future lies with Red Bull, while team principal Fred Vasseur has signed a contract extension with Ferrari.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are in a title race on their own and, one year on from McLaren’s team order fiasco in Budapest, there is ‘very little’ between the two drivers