Esteban Ocon’s sixth place finish means the young Frenchman keeps up his remarkable record of having only missed the points once this year, while team mate Sergio Perez came home ninth for Force India’s 10th double points haul of 2017. Only Mercedes (12) and Ferrari (11) have more.

Williams were another team to get both cars home in the points, with Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa finishing seventh and eighth. That, however, is only the second time that the Grove-based squad have managed the feat this year.

Starting race 13 in P13 at the wheel of an RB13, Max Verstappen might have been expecting more bad luck - and he got it when he suffered a puncture after clashing with Felipe Massa. Still, the Dutchman was able to salvage tenth place after taking the chequered flag for just the seventh time this year.

Verstappen continues to rank bottom in raced laps this season with 457, but he gained ground on the two men above him as Fernando Alonso and Jolyon Palmer recorded respectively their ninth and fifth DNFs this season.