Kimi Raikkonen (P14): 5.5/10
None of the Ferrari-powered cars had a fun time in Sakhir, and Kimi Raikkonen notably struggled for pace all weekend on the high speed Bahrain outer loop. He was quicker than his Alfa Romeo team mate Antonio Giovinazzi on Friday but lost ground on Saturday and ended up last-but-one on the timesheets at the end of the first round of qualifying. He hit the kerb and spun at the start of the race which left him running at the back, where he was soon joined by Sergio Perez who had been involved in a separate incident of his own. However once the safety car came in, Raikkonen was soon left on his own as Perez embarked on what would prove to be a race-winning comeback drive. Kimi did at least make short work of F1 rookie Pietro Fittipaldi to ensure that he wasn't dead last, but the Alfa remained stubbornly sluggish and it wasn't until lap 59 that he was finally able to do anything about the second of this week's new arrivals, Williams' Jack Aitken. The safety car meant that he was eventually also able to dispatch Kevin Magnussen leaving him running behind Giovinazzi for the remaining half dozen laps and a welcome end to the night's labours.
Antonio Giovinazzi (P13): 6.5/10
Antonio Giovinazzi might have had a somewhat better time of it at Sakhir than his Alfa Romeo team mate, but it's unlikely that he'll look back on the night with much enthusiasm. He was slower than Kimi Raikkonen on Friday but improved on Saturday, finishing final practice in 11th place and then successfully making it through to the second round of qualifying later in the evening. Following the early safety car at the start of the race, Giovinazzi was among the cars quickly picked off by the fast-recovering Sergio Perez, and he briefly fell to 16th following his pit stop that put him a lap down. But he was soon back up to 14th place, and Nicholas Latifi's retirement handed him an extra spot for the latter half of the race. Unable to do much about Sebastian Vettel it proved to be a rather unremarkable run to the chequered flag for Giovinazzi, much of which was spent with Raikkonen looming but rarely threatening in his rear view mirrors. "Overtaking was very difficult," he reported, adding: "To finish in front of our rivals and just behind a Ferrari is what we have to take home."
