Zhou Guanyu (SP19, P12): 5.5/10
Zhou Guanyu fared better than his Alfa Romeo team mate Valtteri Bottas this weekend, but that's not saying all that much and overall there is a genuine 'going out of business' malaise pervading the team at this point of the season, with no fresh ideas or energy around to help kick start them. Zhou was unlucky to miss the cut at the end of the first round of qualifying and again in the showdown, and the sprint saw him decline further down the order to join Bottas running right at the back. He fared better in the race and picked up two spots on the first lap thanks to the kerfuffle at the opening corners, but an early pit stop on lap 8 dropped him to the back. He benefitted from running in clear air before the others started to pit under a Virtual Safety Car, but when everything shook out he was still stuck in 14th place between two rookies (Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries) and that's pretty much where he stayed for the rest of the afternoon. Track limit penalties for de Vries and Esteban Ocon promoted him two places in the final classification, but realistically points were never on the cards for the Chinese driver this week at the Red Bull Ring.
Alexander Albon (SP13, P11): 7.5/10
After the delight of seventh place finish in Canada with the latest set of upgrades on the Williams FW45, Alex Albon must have been hoping for a little more good fortune and perhaps another point or two in Austria. He tried hard, but with just one retirement and a circuit less to the car's liking, he wasn't quite able to pull it off in Austria - although he once again showed his strong form by making it into the final round of qualifying on Friday afternoon. He couldn't quite do that in the showdown, but he did get a great launch off the grid in the sprint and moved up from 11th to seventh. Unfortunately he left it too late (lap 18) before pitting to change from inters to slicks and the advantage was lost, leaving him well outside the top ten (let alone the points). On Sunday, he maintained tenth place for much of the race despite being passed by the likes of George Russell and Sergio Perez, but in the final stint came under pressure from Lance Stroll who got around him on lap 63 leaving Albon struggling to fend off Esteban Ocon to the finish. He managed it and was the last car on the lead lap (no mean feat at such a short circuit as this, especially with Max Verstappen setting the pace at the front) but a belated ten second penalty for track limits to add to one already served during the race left him just short of the points after all, despite all that effort.
