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Well, another race in which the Virtual Safety Car played a pivotal role. A fine win for Antonelli, though, at a perilous track where the barriers are always close.

Our writers have conjured five quick takeaways from this race. Sadly none of them is beef in black bean sauce.

And of course, here's your full race report. Ben probably started writing it on lap 30.

Do we have to come here again? Sadly, yes. The Madring has a contract until end-2035. Whoopee!

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

Colapinto seventh with 1.5s in hand over Piastri. Lindblad and Hulkenberg complete the top 10.

Gasly has been given a 5s time penalty for speeding in the pitlane, which will drop him from 12th to 13th. Ocon was 11th, a timely result for a driver whose position at Haas is in doubt.

'No further action' on Verstappen leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Good, having to wait for the result to be confirmed would be a veritable addition of insult to injury after this rather dreary race.

Leclerc held off Russell to claim P4. Lawson sixth but a good 84s behind his team-mate.

Gasly stops for softs and emerges in P12. There's a gamble that didn't work.

So Verstappen now 3.9s off Antonelli and having to defend from Norris as we start the final lap.

Hulkenberg briefly got ahead of Lindblad but short-cut the Turn 1 chicane so had to give the position back.

Lap 56 and now it's Verstappen's turn to get the Turn 5 chicane wrong. Norris right on his tail now, and is complaining over the radio - a kite-flying exercise to attract the attention of the stewards, of course.

P1 to P2 is now 1.7s, while Norris is within a second of Verstappen again. And they're coming up to that battle between Hulkenberg and Lindblad!

Russell also now within a second of Leclerc. That soft tyre isn't really working out as Ferrari expected.

Norris misses the second apex of the second chicane and drops out of the one-second window to Verstappen.

Looking like the win is in the bag for Antonelli, all other things being equal. What of P2 and P3 though? Norris is within a second of Verstappen.

On lap 52 alone, Antonelli pulled six tenths on Verstappen so he now has a 3.1s cushion.

Antonelli reports that he touched the wall at the Turn 7 entry. He's told not to worry.

Also getting a bit tasty between Lindblad and Hulkenberg for P10. Both of them stopped for hards under the VSC.

Colapinto doesn't have to stop again. We'll see when Alpine brings Gasly in – clearly a gamble to wait for a late track incident.

Piastri, meanwhile, is still bottled up in P9 behind Colapinto, Bortoleto having pitted for softs at the same time as Leclerc.

So Antonelli, Verstappen and Norris now head the field, as expected, but with a much smaller gap between them. Seven laps to go.

Softs for Leclerc. As predicted by the Ferrari pitwall, he emerges P4. Just 2.3s in hand over Russell, though, so it was a good thing Ferrari acted promptly to cut off that threat.

Ferrari now responding to the threat from Russell. Leclerc gets the signal to pit at the end of lap 48.

It's also hotting up at the front. Ferrari still hanging on to see if there's another VSC or similar, so leaving Leclerc out there. That has enabled Antonelli, Verstappen and Norris to close right up – a battle which just might provoke a VSC if it gets tasty!

Russell, meanwhile, has been setting personal bests and fastest laps.

Well this is among the best action we've seen since lap one, which is an indictment of this venue.

Lawson also on mediums and currently P7, which will become P6 when Gastly finally pits. Piastri has really been inconvenienced by exiting into traffic here.

Lawson emerges from the pitlane and Piastri can't make a pass stick on Colapinto into Turn 1. Colapinto then shortcuts the second chicane as he tries to lunge past Bortoleto's Audi.

Piastri pits at the end of lap 42 for mediums. That's given him a lot of work to do because he emerges behind Lindblad. So P11 for Oscar, but a 28-lap tyre offset to two of the cars ahead.

Well, one of the cars ahead – Piastri barges past Lindblad for P10 at Turn 1.

Lawson now pits at the end of lap 44.

One question that will no doubt be asked of Norris and McLaren team boss Andrea Stella after the race will be whether stopping anyway, after the VSC had ended, was a wise course of action.

They will probably answer that the medium had been suffering graining all weekend so they needed to get off it as soon as practicable.

Norris does another purple lap to close to 1.1s after of Verstappen.

Leclerc, still P1 with Antonelli 2.9s behind, asks for a strategy update and is told he's essentially consolidating a net fourth place.

Brief skim of the barrier at Turn 8 for Norris but he emerges unscatched. 1.8s now the gap to Verstappen up front.

That, of course, is the battle for P15.

More significant and pressing is the battle for the final points-paying positions. There's a big gap (9.6s) from Gasly in P8 to Bortoleto in P9, but then Colapinto is zeroing in on the Audi. Lindblad 3.2s behind the Alpine in P11.

Colapinto and Lindblad pitted under the VSC but Bortoleto, like Gasly, is still on the hards with which he started the race.

Looks like Albon has been given a chivvy because he's picked up the pace. Bearman has pitted and emerged into the gap between the Williams and the Aston Martin.

Russell quibbles his strategy and is given the old "We'll discuss strategy later". Norris is doing 37.1s so George is told to "focus on that" - which, given his last lap was a 37.9s, we can take as a crack of the whip.

Lawson overcooks it into Turn 5 on lap 35 and Russell seizes the moment to snatch P5.

Speaking of Albon – who stopped for hards under the VSC – he is being caught by Alonso at a rate of 1.5s a lap.

We have another overtake! Alonso on Perez for P17. The other Cadillac of Bottas has just visited the pits.

Alonso stopped for softs as well as a change of front wing during that VSC period, currently the only car on track running the softest compound. We have given up trying to understand Aston Martin tyre strategy in grands prix. Perhaps the compound that goes on is determined via a game of 'Spin The Bottle'?

But Leclerc set his fastest lap of the race on lap 29, so still in control of tyre deg on those hards.

Yes, Norris half a second quicker than Verstappen and seven tenths quicker than Antonelli on lap 29.

Another set of hard tyres goes on. Russell emerges behind Lawson but ahead of Piastri. P6 for now.

That has given Norris a break because he was losing time to Antonelli while stuck behind Russell. It's still looking like an Antonelli-Verstappen-Norris podium once Leclerc and Lawson pit out of the way.