Charles Leclerc (P6, 8 pts): 7.5/10
Fourth fastest in first practice, Charles Leclerc went into qualifying eyeing up a second row starting position for the third race in a row - but it didn't turn out like that and he ended up down in eighth place, three spots behind his Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz. This did not go down well with the Monegasque: “I wasn’t good enough," he fumed afterwards. He was able to pick up an early position by jumping Esteban Ocon at the restart following a safety car for Kimi Raikkonen's accident, but thereafter found himself stuck behind Sainz until the Spanish driver made an early pit stop on lap 21. His own stop put Leclerc back behind Sainz and it wasn't until lap 37 that he was finally able to get ahead, only to promptly find himself stymied for the rest of the afternoon running behind the McLaren of Lando Norris. Leclerc was the first to admit that it had been a frustrating day in Portimão: "I can't be satisfied with P6, and overall I haven't been performing at my best this weekend. That said, looking at my drive in the race, I am happy with the job I did."
Lando Norris (P5, 10 pts): 8.5/10
After his outstanding podium in Imola, it looked like it would be down to earth with a bump for Lando Norris this time out in Portugal. He was down in 12th place at the end of FP2 and behind his McLaren team mate Daniel Ricciardo, who looked to be back on form and ready to take the younger man to school. But the tables were turned in qualifying, with Ricciardo shocked to miss the cut at the end of Q1 while Norris sailed through to the final round, although seventh place on the grid wasn't as good as he had been hoping for. In the past it's been Norris' early race pace that has let him down, but that's no longer the case and when the race restarted following a brief safety car he was able to sail past both Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz for fourth place - although Red Bull would grumble that he went off track in so doing, and should have handed the place back. Perez did eventually seize back the position, and after his pit stop on lap 23 Norris found himself running in eighth until the late stoppers eventually came in and the Briton was back in fifth place. Too far away from Perez by this point but still kept on his toes by Leclerc behind, Norris brought the MCL35M home as 'best of the rest' behind the combined ranks of Mercedes and Red Bull, a job very well done. "Very happy with today. It was a strong race by the whole team, and a well-executed strategy."
