We've said it before and we'll say it again, I our humble opinion Ferrari is dropping the wrong man.

Charles Leclerc might have a lot going for him, but there are too many mistakes, while Carlos Sainz is that reliable pair of hands one needs and can rely upon.

There is no mistaking the fact that over the last couple of weeks the Spaniard has been keen to make a point and we think he's made it.

Losing the Ferrari drive is one thing, however to see him heading to Williams is sad beyond belief.

Yes, James Vowles is doing a remarkable job, but the Grove outfit is some way off challenging for wins again, far less titles, and one can only hope that it is a stop-gap for Sainz, especially when there are a couple of (nameless) drivers who really have no place on the grid moving forwards.

Of course, whatever Sainz does today is going to be of little interest to most, for the real focus will be the Verstappen/Norris show, especially in the wake of last weekend's fun and games.

McLaren clearly has the better car, but Verstappen is fast developing into a driver as wily as Mr Alonso, who is able to dig deep into his arsenal of tricks.

As was the case last week and on so many weekends before, the race cannot be won in the first corner but it can be lost, and that long, long, long run to Turn 1 could well end in disaster.

The 1-2 last weekend sees Ferrari join the battle for the constructors' title, and what wouldn't Sainz give to assist the Maranello outfit to a historic win. Leclerc is up there with him meaning that, unlike Red Bull and McLaren, it has two cars in contention.

Mercedes performance continues to change from session to session, witness Hamilton's complaints in qualifying yesterday, and is therefore unlikely to play a significant part in today's proceedings, a situation not helped by the fact that both drivers have wildly different set-ups.

On the other hand, Gasly has been having a good weekend, as have the Haas pair, while Albon will be keen to stamp his authority at Williams.

Some are looking forward to seeing Piastri and Perez work their way through the field, and while the Australian is sure to finish in the points, the Mexican really does appear to go from bad to worse.

Having questioned Norris' mental; stability in recent weeks, Helmut Marko has now described Yuki Tsunoda as "unstable", the Austrian clearly as kind and caring as ever.

That said, RB has lost out to Haas, and now that Williams has two drivers capable of scoring points, the Faenza outfit's current seventh place could be under threat, while Haas could yet give the ailing Aston Martin a scare in the coming races.

Theoretically, the quickest strategy involves starting on the mediums before switching to the hards between laps 25 and 32. Those who opt to start on the hard should pit between laps 36 and 43 to switch to the medium.

The soft cannot be ruled out entirely: it could come into play as an option either at the start or towards the end, paired with the hard, or maybe as a set to start on for those gambling on a two-stop to make the most of having two sets of mediums available, which is on paper the most competitive of the three compounds brought here.

"Once the launch happens, a lot of it is down to instinct, your racing instinct kicks in," says Sainz. "Obviously breaking the tow is important, but it is difficult to know what your rivals will do.

"I'd like to leave the team on a high, maximise my chance of finishing on the podium. It could have been easy to lose some motivation, knowing I'm leaving the team but I've managed to keep myself in check."

The pitlane opens and Verstappen leads the way, followed by Perez, Lawson, Norris and Ocon.

Tsunoda thanks his crew for repairing his car.

Ocon is starting from the pitlane after changes to his car were made under parc ferme, however having qualified nineteenth it should make too much difference to the Frenchman.

Ahead of the formation lap the air temperature is 19 degrees C, while the track temperature is 36 degrees. The sun is shining but as ever it is a little murky. Humidity is 51%.

All are starting on mediums bar Lawson, Bottas, Colapinto, Perez, Zhou and Ocon. Fresh rubber all round bar Alonso and Stroll - as ever - and Zhou.

They head off on the formation lap, all getting away cleanly.

The grid forms.

They're away! Verstappen out-drags Sainz into Turn 1 but further back Tsunoda has gone off on the approach to the first corner.

Verstappen and Sainz are side-by-side into Turn 1 but the Spaniard cuts the corner and finds himself ahead, however he subsequently hands the position back to the Dutchman.

While Tsunoda climbs from his car, Albon subsequently stops on the approach to Turn 3 his car clearly damaged.

Replay shows that as they were heading towards Turn 1, Tsunoda was passing Albon when the two touched as Williams moved aside to create space for Gasly.

In the melee that followed, Hamilton was able to pass his Mercedes teammate who was lucky not to be collected by the wildly spinning RB.

"Alex was squeezed both sides, and Yuki didn't do much wrong," says James Vowles. "We still have a car in this race in a good position with Franco."

The Safety Car is deployed, behind it Verstappen leads the field ahead of Sainz, Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton, Russell, Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Gasly and Lawson. Perez is up five places to 13th while Piastri remains seventeenth.

Perez is under investigation for a false start. Indeed, replay shows the Mexican was well ahead of his starting slot.

The field continues behind the Safety Car, as Leclerc reports that his drink is spilling when he "zig-zags" to keep his tyres warm. Jokes on a postcard to...

Perez is given a 5s time penalty.

Everything points towards Plan A," Piastri is told.

The Safety Car is withdrawn at the end of Lap 6, Verstappen showing Sainz a clean pair of heels. That said, the Ferrari gets a strong tow but the Spaniard is unable to pass the Red Bull.

Despite being on mediums Piastri is making no impression on the cars ahead.

On Lap 10 Sainz passes Verstappen into Turn 1, the Dutchman fights back but the Spaniard keeps his cool and his position.

"What can I do with an empty battery," moans Verstappen.

Norris passes Verstappen but in the process carries to much speed and runs wide - a la Austin - as the Dutchman runs him wide. The McLaren driver rejoins ahead of Sainz (and Verstappen). He slows to allow the Ferrari through but remains ahead of the Red Bull.

The Dutchman subsequently attacks the McLaren driver in Turn 8 and in the process they both run wide, allowing Leclerc through to take second.

"I was through," says Norris. "This guy is dangerous."

The three-time world champion is noted for forcing another driver off track as Magnussen closes on Russell.

The Turn 8 incident involving Norris and Verstappen is under investigation.

Piastri is up to sixteenth.

Verstappen is given a 10s penalty for forcing Norris off track.

Hamilton and Russell are battling for 5th as Magnussen looks to pick up the pieces.

Verstappen is actually quite sanguine when told of the penalty.

Despite a staunch defence, Hamilton is passed by his Mercedes teammate.