Antonio Giovinazzi (P5, 10 pts): 7.5/10
It has been a long dry spell for Alfa Romeo, which had gone four races without troubling the points. Not since Antonio Giovinazzi picked up points at Monza and Singapore had the team managed to finish in the top ten. If the team as a whole seemed to have a bit more life in it arriving in Brazil, it still wasn't exactly a surprise when Giovinazzi failed to join Kimi Raikkonen in progressing to the final round of qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Starting from 12th position, Giovinazzi made effective first lap passes on Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo before inevitably surrendering a position himself to the charging Charles Leclerc. A move on Kevin Magnussen promoted Giovinazzi back into the top ten on lap 5 which is where he remained until his first pit stop on lap 20, and it worked out quite well for him. Ten laps later he had advanced to eighth place which he again confidently retained all the way to his second stop on lap 46 that put him a lap down. The first safety car enabled him to reverse that misfortune and he was on hand to pick up two spots after the Ferrari cars had their ill-tempered spat on lap 66. One more position was gained at the expense of Alex Albon's late spin, and then a further promotion came after the finish with Lewis Hamilton's five-second penalty. The result? An unexpected but hugely welcome fifth place for Giovinazzi, his best result in 22 starts in F1. "What a great race," he said afterwards. "A fantastic way to celebrate my contract for next year!"
