Carlos Sainz (P2, 18 pts): 9.5/10
A quiet start for Carlos Sainz on Friday (tenth in FP1, sixth in FP2) led to a strong Saturday in which he was second fastest in final practice, and ultimately third on the grid after qualifying. Even so, Sainz was sounding wary about the McLaren's race pace at Monza and uncertain whether they would be able to hold on to a top position on Sunday. He needn't have worried: within seconds of the start he had got the jump on Valtteri Bottas and was running in second place. Better yet, his team mate Lando Norris was right behind him. When race leader Lewis Hamilton was effectively removed from the field of play by a heavy penalty, victory should have fallen into Mclaren's hands. But unfortunately the timing of the safety car had worked against Sainz, who had dropped back to eighth place behind those drivers fortunate enough to have pitted earlier. Most of those - Kimi Raikkonen, Nicholas Latifi, even Lance Stroll - were quickly dealt with, but Pierre Gasly's margin at the front proved insurmountable and Sainz ran out of laps before he could make his move, meaning he had to settle for second place when a maiden win had been within his reach.
Pierre Gasly (P1, 25 pts): 9/10
We're genuinely thrilled for Pierre Gasly taking his maiden F1 victory this weekend, having watched his roller coaster ride in 2019 which began with his promotion to Red Bull, came to such an abrupt end in the summer, only for him to find redemption with a podium for Toro Rosso in Brazil. Now victory with the rebranded AlphaTauri squad is the ultimate vindication for the Frenchman, and while it's thoroughly deserved it has to be said there is a large dose of good fortune involved as well. Consistently in the top six on Friday and in the first two rounds of qualifying, he rather underperformed in Q3 leaving him tenth on the grid. He didn't make any progress in the opening laps of the race and the team decided to pit him early on lap 19 - just before the safety car was deployed for Kevin Magnussen' retirement. Once everyone else had pitted and Lewis Hamilton served his stop-go penalty, all Gasly had to do was hold on to the first place that he found himself in - easier said than done of course. And he played the opportunity to perfection, pulling out enough of a gap that Carlos Sainz fell four tenths of a second short of catching him at the line. Good fortune might have put him in a position to win the race, but it was great driving that had succeeded in actually making it work.
