The groundwork for Bottas’ victory was laid right at the start, when the Mercedes driver rocketed away to a start so good that Vettel and other drivers assumed was a jump-start. In reality, Bottas had taken a mere 0.201s to react to the lights.

Daniel Ricciardo, who had started fourth, was able to aggressively overtake Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen on the opening lap to move to third place behind Bottas and Vettel.

Behind them chaos reigned as Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat locked his brakes into the opening corner and collided with Fernando Alonso’s McLaren, which then cannoned into Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

While the front three held station through the pitstops, Lewis Hamilton – who started eighth after receiving a five-place grid penalty for an equipment change – was able to leap frog Raikkonen.

A thrilling finish ensued as Vettel closed in on leader Bottas and Hamilton put Ricciardo under pressure for the final podium place.

Bottas held on to score, and likewise Ricciardo resisted Hamilton’s advances.

It was Bottas’ second victory and one which puts him back in realistic title contention.

An overjoyed Ricciardo said afterwards that third place in this race was a more significant achievement than his somewhat-inherited victory in Baku, because it showed the Red Bull had genuine front-running pace, and on a circuit which wasn’t ideally suited to the Renault-powered Red Bull.

The Australian is currently fourth in the points chase after a remarkable run of podium performances. Over the past five races, Ricciardo has scored more points than any other driver.