Sergio Perez (Fastest lap, P16): 5/10
There's no getting away from the fact that this was Sergio Perez' worst weekend since joining Red Bull over the winter, which is a shame just when he seemed to have found his rhythm with the team. He was over a second slower than Max Verstappen in the first practice session, but rallied to fifth in qualifying a few hours later. However he lost out to Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris at the start of the sprint race, and then spun in dirty air as he pushed to get back the lost positions. He was firmly stuck at the back even before he retired as a strategic move to allow the team to repair the car overnight. The team had to try something different on Sunday and he was the only driver to start on hard tyres. He quickly switched to the mediums during the red flag but this obliged him to make another stop on lap 38 just after he'd fought his way back into the points. With five laps to go, Perez made one final stop to switch to the soft compound: while finishing outside the top ten meant he wouldn't receive the bonus point for setting the fastest lap, it at least stopped Hamilton from doing so. But that's very slight recompense for Perez and for Red Bull this week.
Kimi Raikkonen (P15): 6/10
After finishing 15th in practice here was just a chance that Kimi Raikkonen would make it into the second round of qualifying later in the day. But that wasn't to be, and he went into the sprint race starting from 17th on the grid. But racing is always what Raikkonen is best at - what he's born for - and so it was no surprise when he emerged as one of the main beneficiaries of the new format by picking up four places, enabling him to start the Grand Prix from 13th. He picked up more spots when the lights went out before the race was neutralised by a safety car and red flag. He then lost out to Esteban Ocon after the restart but was still running in the top ten until his scheduled pit stop on lap 18 put him on the hard compound for the remainder of the afternoon. He remained within touching distance of a point until he tangled with Perez at Club on lap 46 which put him firmly out of contention. "It wasn't too bad a race until the contact with Perez," he reported. "We went side by side in quite a few corners but suddenly the space was gone. I am not sure what happened, but I spun and that was it."
