Alexander Albon (P8, 4 pts): 8/10
Toro Rosso has been coming on a treat in recent weeks, and Monaco was their best performance of 2019 by some way. Both drivers played their parts, with Alexander Albon being the fastest of the pair in Thursday practice before losing ground to Daniil Kvyat on Saturday. Even so, the increasingly impressive rookie made it through to the final round of qualifying and duly lined up in tenth place on the grid, his highest start in F1 to date. The team didn't fall for the appeal of pitting under the early safety car but instead kept Albon out on his initial set of soft tyres all the way through to lap 40, despite the Thai driver having to manage some serious degradation issues toward the end. That long stint enabled him to find space when he came out to slot into what became eighth place a few minutes later. Making no mistakes and keeping well clear of the barriers that usually embrace many an unwary rookie, Albon brought the STR14 home for his best result of 2019, and richly deserved at that.
