Carlos Sainz (P6, 8 pts): 8.5/10
The heat of Spain was really not playing to McLaren's strengths, but the home outing did wonders for Carlos Sainz. After a quiet time on Friday morning he was consistently running in the top ten through to qualifying which saw him take seventh place on the grid. Pleasingly, he was quicker (and by a long way) than his team mate Lando Norris throughout. He consolidated his position with a solid start to the race and his first stint on soft tyres on Sunday. The team then decided to keep him on the same compound for the second stint, which proved to be a rather inspired call allowing him to quickly bounce back to sixth after the first round of pit stops. His final run on the medium tyre then enabled him to make a late pass on the one-stopping Sebastian Vettel for a top six finish. If only the grandstands had been full of Spanish fans to cheer him home...
Sergio Perez (P5, 10 pts): 9/10
After two weeks on the sidelines following a positive coronavirus test during which time the spotlight was comprehensively grabbed by his stand-in Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez was back in Barcelona - and it was like he'd never been away. Seventh fastest on Friday, the Mexican driver flew to fourth place with an impressive display in qualifying meaning that he started his comeback performance from the second row alongside Max Verstappen. He lost a position at the start to his Racing Point team mate Lance Stroll, and spent the entire first half of the race effectively flying in formation with the Canadian. The team had decided to split strategies, and Perez - the master of eking out the longest life from his tyres - was on a one-stopper, but in the end both strategies converged and the two were together again at the finish. Perez crossed the line first but was hit by a five second penalty for failing to observe blue flags during the race (something which puzzled most neutral onlookers in the paddock)- leaving Perez back in fifth just behind Stroll in the final classification.
