Lando Norris (P12): 6.5/10
Lando Norris promised much on Friday but was ultimately unable to deliver anything of substance on Sunday, with the MCL36 not cut out for the long straights and sweeping corners of Spa. He was a surprise third quickest (behind usual suspects Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc) at the end of Friday, but even though all three made it into the final round of qualifying on Saturday they already knew that they would be serving 'back of the grid' penalties for the race. In practice that meant Norris lined up in 17th place on Sunday, and by the time he made his first pit stop he was up to ninth just behind his McLaren team mate Daniel Ricciardo. The timing worked out reasonably well, but Norris then got stuck in various DRS trains, keeping him in 12th place behind Lance Stroll for much of the remainder of the race and unable to find any way into the points before the chequered flag. "We tried but we just weren't quick enough this time around," he commented, as McLaren took a big knock in their battle with Alpine for fourth place in the constructors championship.
Lance Stroll (P11): 7/10
The variable conditions over the weekend meant it was quite an up and down affair for Lance Stroll at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. In the damp conditions of Friday, Stroll was clearly enjoying himself - fifth fastest in FP1 and fourth in FP2. Was Aston Martin about to spring a surprise in Belgium with their new rear wing introduced just before the summer break? Unfortunately Stroll tumbled to P16 in final practice and only just made the cut at the end of the first round of qualifying. That still translated to a top ten start once all the grid penalties were accounted for, and despite some early contact at Les Combes he was able to maintain his net position over the opening stint, which saw him running behind McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo. He came down pit lane for the first time on lap 15 and then had to take care of Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly before running up to the back of Ricciardo again in time for the second round of pit stops. This time he came out right behind Alex Albon, and the Williams was proving stubbornly resistant to being overtaken at Spa. Stroll was duly unable to do anything about snatching the final point on offer in the closing laps.
