In the closing stages, McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris maintained their positions to secure second and third place, respectively.

Verstappen displayed complete control after securing his third title on Saturday.

The Dutch driver maintained the lead from the beginning, although he temporarily lost it after his first pit stop, which was necessitated by rules limiting tire usage due to safety precautions.

Pirelli imposed a limitation on all teams, allowing a maximum of 18 laps on a single set of tires after uncovering that their product could be susceptible to failure when subjected to high-speed maneuvers over the kerbs at the Lusail circuit.

This resulted in a fragmented race, where it took some time for the race positions to stabilize, as all drivers were compelled to make a minimum of three pit stops due to the tire mileage restrictions.

Alex Albon from Williams found himself in the lead of the race following Verstappen's initial pit stop, a circumstance partly influenced by the early deployment of a safety car aimed at retrieving Hamilton's damaged Mercedes.

As the race progressed and strategies leveled out, Charles Leclerc from Ferrari secured fifth place, following behind Verstappen, Piastri, Norris, and Russell.

Leclerc seized an opportunity when Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso made a mistake, running off the track around the halfway point of the race and ceding his position to the Ferrari driver.

Despite the discomfort of a scalding seat, Alonso managed to secure sixth place, with Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas following closely behind.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez crossed the finish line in ninth place, commencing the race from the pit lane due to a crash during Saturday's sprint race. His performance was hindered by two five-second penalties for breaching track limits.

However, the Mexican driver's race faced setbacks due to two separate instances of exceeding track limits, resulting in two five-second penalties. The first penalty was served during a pit stop, and the second one was applied at the race's conclusion, causing him to finish in 10th place, just behind Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu.

Nevertheless, their plans were foiled at the first corner as they endeavored to navigate three abreast alongside Verstappen.

Hamilton commenced the race with the advantage of starting on the soft tires, offering him enhanced traction off the starting line. He maneuvered alongside Russell on the outer side of the track, while Verstappen held the lead on the inner side, with only a slight gap separating the Mercedes from the Red Bull.

While attempting to make a wide maneuver around the outside, Hamilton's right rear wheel made contact with Russell's left front, resulting in the seven-time champion spinning into the gravel.

In their initial radio communications, both drivers expressed frustration and anger towards each other, with Hamilton asserting that he had been, "taken out by my team-mate" and Russell saying "for the second race in succession”, an allusion to his perception that Hamilton had not been a team player when they were battling the Ferraris in Japan just two weeks prior.

 "It's a fine line. I'm sorry for all the team." Hamilton added "I've watched the replay and it was 100% my fault and I take full responsibility. Apologies to my team and to George."

Russell fell to the back of the pack after making a pit stop to replace his tires at the conclusion of the opening lap. However, he executed a remarkable race to make a comeback, ultimately securing fourth place. This performance highlighted the potential outcome for both cars had they not collided.

Mercedes recognized from the outset that the stipulated shorter stints, along with reduced tire wear concerns compared to the sprint race, allowed Russell to push with greater intensity than initially anticipated.

This realization appeared to have dawned on them ahead of other teams, enabling Russell to make significant progress throughout the race.