Alexander Albon (SP9, P12): 6.5/10
There were times during the weekend when Williams were looking very much in the midfield mix, but when it came to the key moments they simply weren't up to it and it was a rather underwhelming outcome as a whole for Alex Albon. He was in the top ten in practice but missed the final cut in qualifying leaving him in P13. It was rather better in the showdown where he made it through to the final round and lined up in P7 for the sprint, but he was picked off by Fernando Alonso at the start and then by Lance Stroll on lap 12, leaving him crossing the line in ninth and just missing out on points. In Sunday's Grand Prix he clashed early with Oscar Piastri and suffered damage to his front wing endplate, although he struggled on until his pit stop on lap 7 - still too early to benefit from the safety car, however. After that he was stuck in a long DRS train and settled in to 14th place, picking up two spots right at the end when Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon finally pitted for their mandatory stops shortly before the chequered flag.
Oscar Piastri (SP10, P11): 6.5/10
Oscar Piastri was a bit poorly this weekend, something that was only revealed after the race. We're giving him an extra half point for overcoming whatever it was that ailed him, and in the circumstances he did well to come so close to earning more championship points after his break-through top ten finish in Australia at the start of the month. Overall though it was a fairly unremarkable rookie run for him in Baku, and he was the better part of a second slower than his McLaren team mate Lando Norris in the sole practice session. In the circumstances he did well to make it into the final round of qualifying despite the lack of track experience, but he was slower than Norris in both that and the sprint showdown. With Norris starting the sprint on soft tyres, Piastri proved the better of the pair and was P10 (sadly, not in the points in this case) but Norris had the edge in the Grand Prix where Piastri finished in P11 - still pointless, unfortunately. But nonetheless a good showing, and decent experience for the 22-year-old still learning his trade.
