Carlos Sainz (P6, 8 pts): 9/10
Carlos Sainz missed out on making it through to the final round of qualifying by just 0.02s on Saturday, but at least that gave him a free choice of ultrasoft tyres on which to start the race. Unlike many of those around him on the grid he was unable to make use of the early chaos to improve his position at the start of the race, but he did make solid progress through the course of the race until he made a very late pit stop which allowed him to keep hold of sixth place. After that he was successful in fending off any unwanted approaches from Charles Leclerc in the final laps. It was a satisfying way to finish off the season and his tenure at Renault before moving to McLaren next year. He signed off with a compliment for Nico Hulkenberg, calling him "the fastest teammate I've had": since he was famously previously paired with Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso, that's quite a statement!
