Lance Stroll (P6, 8 pts): 8/10
We'll be honest, we really hadn't expected Lance Stroll to be in the car this weekend after his training accident had left him with hand and wrist injuries that required surgery just 12 days before the opening race of 2023. he was under a microscope throughout practice as everyone analysed whether he was up to the job of turning the steering wheel at 200mph. Not only did he manage, he went on to reach the final round of qualifying which says a lot about the Canadian's guts and determination, not to mention the performance of the AMR23. In the race there was one big mistake when he went in too hot into turn 4 and nearly took out his new team mate Fernando Alonso, and if that had happened we would have been giving a very different analysis and rating to young Stroll. But both survived, and Stroll's injured wrists lasted the full 57 laps to finish in the top six, so we're going to give him the benefit of the doubt and an extra point for gumption.
Lewis Hamilton (P5, 10 pts): 7.5/10
After a horrible time in Friday practice, Lewis Hamilton took to telling the media that Mercedes had gone in entirely the wrong direction with their current car design and that it was already all over for them this season. He would have been irked to be pipped by team mate George Russell in qualifying, but starting from seventh on the grid was better than he'd feared and he was duly reenergised, jumping ahead of both Russell and Fernando Alonso on the opening lap. However he soon had a cold dose of reality when Alonso regrouped and brutally forced his way past on lap 30. Hamilton kept his foot down and stayed close to the Aston Martin as it went on to pick off the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, and Hamilton was hoping he could follow suit in the closing laps of the race. Unfortunately for Mercedes, Sainz was too solid in his defence and Hamilton had to settle for fifth after Charles Leclerc's late retirement. By no means a disaster for Hamilton, but not really all that great either.
