Mercedes, however, suffered further misery just a few laps after Hamilton’s puncture when George Russell collided with Verstappen as they both jostled for position.

On lap 25, Verstappen made a move on Russell at Turn 12 and the pair made contact. The Brit’s car appeared to come off worse as he fell down the grid once a safety car was deployed and was then handed a five-second penalty.

Meanwhile, Hamilton initially struggled to move back up the order and faces an uphill battle to get into the points. He endured a slow pitstop once the safety car came out for the incident between Russell and Verstappen.