The four-time world champion, reflecting on his standout performance after the race, said: "The race was quite full on. A lot of action. I had to overtake some cars, coming from the pit lane.

"Our pace was quite strong, overall, the stints. To be on the podium, I did not expect that at all, even with a puncture at the beginning, that's why we had to box again. Incredible result for us. Very happy with that. Very proud of everyone."

He finally added: "Yesterday was very tough. We never give up. We always try to improve and find more lap time and luckily we found that again today. To finish only 10 seconds from the lead is incredible."

Lando Norris strengthened his championship lead, claiming 15 vital points over his teammate and now sitting 24 points clear with three rounds to go.

Max Verstappen staged an impressive recovery, finishing third to limit the damage — he gained key points on Piastri but fell a further seven behind Norris, who now leads by 49 points.

The Dutchman delivered a brilliant comeback, slicing through the field with strong pace and overtaking George Russell for a podium finish in the closing laps on soft tyres.