Zhou Guanyu (Fastest lap, P16): 6/10
For his first outing at Suzuka, Zhou Guanyu kept up his track record of being a calm, proficient driver who gets his head down and working at improving all weekend. While he was P11 and P10 in wet conditions on Friday, he seemed less confident in dry conditions in final practice but bounced back to make the first cut in qualifying later in the day. Starting the race from 14th on the grid, he was sent spinning at the hairpin, dropping to the back as a result with Pierre Gasly joining him there in time for the restart. He was one of the last cars to pit for inters which meant that he had been boosted to sixth place before coming in on lap 9. However he was now firmly trapped behind Alfa Romeo team mate Valtteri Bottas for the rest of the shortened Grand Prix.
Valtteri Bottas (P15): 6/10
Valtteri Bottas was understandably quicker than his Alfa Romeo rookie team mate Zhou Guanyu in Friday's wet practice sessions and looked to be on course for a top ten grid spot, but his performance waned when conditions dried up on Saturday and he just missed out on making the cut at the end of Q2 leaving him starting from P12 instead. Unfortunately he lost two places on the first lap of the race leaving him stuck in the pack when the race resumed two hours later. After the pit stops for intermediate tyres had cycled through he found himself pinned behind Kevin Magnussen in 15th place; and that's where he crossed the line a little over half an hour later. A frustrating, unrewarding day for the Finn but a solid drive in the circumstances.
