Lando Norris (P14): 8.5/10
Lando Norris could so easily have been the hero of this weekend in Spa. He'd been in the top ten throughout practice and finished FP3 in fourth place, but it was in the changeable Saturday afternoon qualifying session that he really came alive, going fastest in both Q1 (by 0.416 over Max Verstappen) and Q2 (0.204s ahead of Lewis Hamilton) entirely by merit. It looked as though the McLaren simply had the edge in these conditions. But then the rain really started to bucket down as Q3 got underway, and Norris was on the team radio reporting aquaplaning even as Sebastian Vettel was telling his own pit wall that the session should be red-flagged. Seconds later, Norris was sliding off the track into a huge shunt at Les Combes that ended his day. Should he have backed off and been more sensible in his approach? Maybe, but then he wouldn't be the racing driver that he is today if he didn't try and seize such opportunities when they arise. One trip to the hospital (bruised but otherwise unhurt) and new gearbox later (incurring a five place grid penalty) Norris was ready to go on Sunday afternoon, but the weather left him marooned in 14th place with no chance to make up lost ground. A shame for sure, but a great effort all the same.
Antonio Giovinazzi (P13): 6.5/10
While his Alfa Romeo team mate Kimi Raikkonen was having a pretty wretched weekend all things considered, Antonio Giovinazzi simply put his head down and got on with the job. He was over a second quicker than the Finn in FP1, although they were closer in the afternoon. Raikkonen's brake troubles in final practice meant Giovinazzi was again far ahead albeit a disappointing 18th, but he made the most of what the C41 had to offer in qualifying even though he was still a long way off making the cut at the end of Q1. Despite that, grid penalties for Lance Stroll and Lando Norris followed by Sergio Perez spinning off on his way to the grid promoted Giovinazzi into 14th place on the grid, giving him just the faintest inkling that he might be able to do something in the race. But then the race didn't happen and he was unable to move any further up the order before the race was declared over and done without completing a single green flag lap. Sadly it's not going to do a great deal to boost his campaign to stay in the seat in 2022.
