Zhou Guanyu (P14): 6.5/10
It was another solid performance for the Chinese rookie, but unfortunately Spa isn't a circuit that suits the Alfa Romeo C42 and few opportunities presented themselves for Zhou Guanyu after he was left flying the team colours solo following Valtteri Bottas' early departure from the scene. He was 12th in both of Friday's practice sessions but fell off the pace somewhat on Saturday morning before bouncing back in qualifying where he was up to 13th with a little help from Bottas giving him a tow. Unfortunately he was one of the large number of drivers to serve a grid penalty for power unit changes which meant he lined up for the race in P18. He tried running a slightly longer first stint and was up to eighth by the time he pitted on lap 14, but in the long run the strategy didn't really pay off. After his second stop he settled into 13th place, where he enjoyed a battle over the concluding laps with Yuki Tsunoda which ended up going the way of the more experienced AlphaTauri driver by the chequered flag.
Yuki Tsunoda (P13): 6/10
Should Yuki Tsunoda be worried about seeing rising Red Bull star Liam Lawson climbing into the cockpit of the car on the other side of the garage for first practice? Probably not, and Tsunoda was in any case comfortably faster than Lawson in FP1. But perhaps it left him off-balance for the remainder of practice where he was 13th in FP2 and 18th in FP3 before missing the first cut by several tenths in qualifying. Grid penalties meant he was due to start the race in 13th, but the team decision to make an engine change over night in parc ferme conditions mandated a pit lane start for the race, where he ended up being unexpectedly joined by his AlphaTauri team mate Pierre Gasly at short notice. While Gasly pitted early in the race, Tsunoda had started on hard tyres and ran the longest first stint before coming in on lap 18. Although he had good pace, it proved the wrong strategy for Tsunoda who found himself stuck in a DRS train unable to make headway. After the second round of pit stops he was running six places behind Gasly, battling with Zhou Guanyu over who would take 13th place at the line. "I don't think it would have been possible to do much better," he noted.
