Antonio Giovinazzi (P16): 5.5/10
Antonio Giovinazzi's seat at Alfa Romeo is now the only unconfirmed spot on the 2022 grid. It's not known whether the Italian is still in contention to keep it or not, but this weekend won't really have done him any favours. He spun in Friday afternoon's practice after clipping a kerb, and then on Saturday he spun at the start of qualifying almost taking out Charles Leclerc in the process. He ended up incurring a gearbox penalty that saw him start the race from 17th on the grid where he was immediately hit in the commotion through the initial corners dropping him to 19th. For good measure he found himself without radio communications with his race engineer, which became a major factor when the rain began to fall: "It has been a difficult afternoon, especially when the rain started at the end of the race and I couldn't talk to the pits about the tyre change." As the saying goes, when it rains it pours.
Charles Leclerc (P15): 7.5/10
Without a doubt, Charles Leclerc deserves better than 15th place this week, although at the same time it would have been asking too much to finish in the top four which is where he was running when the rain started to fall. Coming into the weekend he knew that he would be starting from the back row after Ferrari opted to implement a full change of engine components. Although he was fourth quickest in FP1, after that he basically checked out and didn't play much part in qualifying, opting to sit out the entirety of Q2 since it made no difference to his grid spot. When the lights went out on Sunday he had an outstanding opening lap and gained seven positions but then seemed to get stuck in 12th place, while Max Verstappen made a more measured start before catching and passing him on lap 9. Leclerc stuck to his plan of an extended first stint on hard tyres and briefly topped out in third place before tyre wear forced his hand, and his belated stop dropped him back to 13th. The late rain gave the glimmer of another chance to shine but trying to stay out on slicks soon proved unviable: "It was just impossible to go on without pitting with two laps to go," he said. "That was basically the end of my race, which is a real shame."
