Fernando Alonso (P6, 8 pts): 8.5/10
A failure to get either car through to the final round of qualifying on Saturday demonstrated that the Alpine wasn't best suited to the tight and twisty seaside circuit, although it was still rather a surprise given that Alonso had been in the top ten throughout all three practice sessions. The reason was clear: Alonso felt he had been impeded on his crucial final Q2 lap by a dawdling Sergio Perez, although the stewards didn't agree. He opted to start the race on the soft compound and made an early stop on lap 12 for a set of hard tyres, a strategy that played out well for him. By the time everyone else made their stops, he was up to ninth. Pit stops under the safety car made by Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris handed Alonso two further places for the restart, which he guarded jealously to the finish line - after which he gained another spot thanks to Carlos Sainz' post-race penalty for an unsafe pit release. In total, it means that Alpine have pulled a further four points ahead of McLaren in the constructors standings.
Sergio Perez (P5, 10 pts): 7/10
It was a very average weekend for Sergio Perez, who ended the first day of practice down in 12th place and over a second behind pace setter Charles Leclerc. Then again, his team mate Max Verstappen was also looking distinctly off colour on that occasion. Both Red Bulls perked up on Saturday, but while Verstappen went in to qualifying as favourite to claim pole (and he duly did so), Perez didn't show the same spark even before he spun off in his last flying lap at the end of Q3, sabotaging the final efforts for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. It left him eight tenths slower than Verstappen's pole time in fifth place on the grid. He ran an anonymous first stint, but things livened up towards the end of the second when he found himself ahead of Hamilton and was determined not to let the Mercedes get past. It came close to tears before bedtime before Hamilton finally forced his way past - and a spent Perez then immediately lost out to Russell two laps later. It meant that he found himself back where he had started in fifth place. His tired mediums made it tough to battle the soft-shod cars around him, and Carlos Sainz soon got ahead of him after the safety car although a unsafe release penalty for the Ferrari meant Perez was handed the spot back after the finish.
