Russell and Hamilton, who had both pitted for fresh slick tyres under the second Safety Car period, raised heart rates on the Mercedes pit wall when they went wheel-to-wheel on several occasions – the younger Briton making the decisive move for P3 on the penultimate lap.
Behind the top five finishers, Fernando Alonso and home favourite Lance Stroll collected a double points finish for Aston Martin, while Daniel Ricciardo followed up a strong qualifying performance to log his first Grand Prix points of the season in eighth.
Ricciardo’s team mate, Yuki Tsunoda, had been in contention for points as well, but a mistake in the closing stages saw him slide across the grass and tumble down the order, promoting Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, who also gave Alpine a double top-10 result.
Haas duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen initially flew up the order as the only drivers to start the race on wet tyres, rather than intermediates, but just missed out on a reward as they crossed the line in 11th and 12th respectively.