Jack Aitken (P16): 6/10
As soon as the rumours started that George Russell was in line to replace Lewis Hamilton in Sakhir this weekend, reserve driver Jack Aitken was straight on the phone to make sure that the Williams management didn't get any ideas about looking elsewhere for a stand-in. It paid off and Aitken duly got the nod, setting him up for his Formula 1 debut in Sakhir. Much like his fellow new arrival Pietro Fittipaldi, Aitken's goal this weekend was just to get out there and acquire as much Grand Prix experience as possible without incident, and that's pretty much what he was able to do. He was predictably slower than his team mate Nicholas Latifi who has had almost a whole season getting used to the FW43. Aitken was slowest of all those taking part in all three practice sessions but did well to qualify ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Fittipaldi on Saturday. He dropped to the back when he made his second stop just before the brief virtual safety car for his team mate's retirement, and suffered a wild final corner spin on lap 61 that cost him his front wing and triggered a significant second safety car. However he enjoyed a notable success in the closing laps when he lined up and dispatched Fittipaldi for position before the chequered flag.
Kevin Magnussen (P15): 6.5/10
This was Kevin Magnussen's 118th Grand Prix start, and it seems certain that there will only be one more before he exits Haas and F1 at the end of the season. It was a generally quiet and nondescript outing for the Dane, as has been largely the case for most of the 2020 campaign: 14th fastest at the end of Friday never really suggested he would dodge elimination at the end of the first round of qualifying, and sure enough he lined up in 15th place on the grid following Lando Norris' engine-related penalty. He picked up several places on the first lap to run in 11th behind the safety car, but then gradually handed those positions back one after another when racing resumed. After his first pit stop on lap 26 he was a lap down in 17th from where he was able to get the better of the two F1 rookies Pietro Fittipaldi and Jack Aitken, but didn't have the pace to do anything about the Alfa Romeos leaving him in 15th place before the chequered flag called time on his efforts. "We were just slow today, there was no chance for us to do anything," he admitted. "We weren't able to compete; the pace just wasn't there for us."
