Lando Norris (P6, 8 pts): 8/10
The shine definitely seems to have gone of McLaren in recent races, but Lando Norris can generally be relied upon to put in a good effort and maximise what's available. This might not be one of his most eye-catching weekends, but he didn't disappoint the home fans with another sterling effort. He kept himself dry in FP1 and was top three in the late afternoon session, and remained 'best of the rest' after the massed ranks of Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes cars in FP3. He deserved sixth place in qualifying, putting him alongside compatriot and Silverstone superstar Lewis Hamilton on the grid, and initially got the better of the Mercedes when the race restarted after a lengthy red flag for Zhou Guanyu's big accident. When Sergio Perez had to pit early for a new nose, Norris found himself running up in fourth place. That was a slightly inflated position and he inevitably had to hand one spot back to the recovering Perez on lap 35, and then a late summons to pit meant he lost out to Fernando Alonso during the safety car. "I felt like we deserved P5 ... I'm not annoyed, I think we still got some good points, but it could have been one more place."
Fernando Alonso (P5, 10 pts): 8.5/10
Fernando Alonso continued his purple patch (or maybe that should be pink) of strong form this season, belying his age and making you wonder why anyone would ever suggest he retire while he's still in obviously still the prime of his F1 racing life. He was in the top ten in both of the dry practice sessions and cemented his position with seventh on the grid in the wet conditions for Saturday's qualifying. He felt he could have done even better and been in the top five, if not for being forced to make his final run with a depleted battery. After so many issues and problems in recent races, this time things couldn't have gone much smoother: he kept out of trouble during the original start, and while he lost out to Pierre Gasly when the race resumed he was soon able to repair the damage and settle in behind Lando Norris, a situation that lasted all the way to the safety car on lap 39. McLaren's late call to pit Norris gave Alonso the opportunity to pick up a spot before the restart, and he duly brought the Alpine home in fifth place - his best result since he was on the podium in last year's Grand Prix in Qatar.
