Zhou Guanyu (P12): 7.5/10
Zhou Guanyu missed out on first practice in favour of that young up-and-coming talent Robert Kubica (presumably fulfilling a sponsorship commitment, as Zhou himself meets the need to run a rookie in at least two free practice sessions during the season) and he somewhat paid for it with a poor final practice on Saturday. He showed promise by finishing ninth in the first round of qualifying while Valtteri Bottas missed the cut, but was eliminated at the end of Q2 leaving him starting the Grand Prix in 15th. He spent most of the race mired in the lower midfield ranks, but a late switch to soft tyres gave him the speed to pass Mick Schumacher, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon in the closing laps, and the retirements of Nicholas Latifi and Lewis Hamilton additionally helped him rise up the ranks to finish P12. Not a bad way to finish his maiden season in F1!
Yuki Tsunoda (P11): 7/10
Yuki Tsunoda was slowest of the regular drivers in first practice, but was quicker than his AlphaTauri team mate Pierre Gasly in both of the subsequent sessions. He made it through to the second round of qualifying (which Gasly failed to do) and lined up on the grid in 11th, which he duly maintained all the way through to the first round of pit stops. Once things settled down again he had made a net gain of one position, but a second stop on lap 38 dropped him to 14th. He was allowed past Gasly but then got lodged behind the Aston Martins, but he did gain two late positions thanks to the retirements of Nicholas Latifi and Lewis Hamilton with three laps to go.
