Lando Norris (P2, 18 pts): 10/10
A subdued time in practice for McLaren as they got their new upgrades bedded in had us worried, because things really didn't look all that good on Friday and it felt like the team might even have made a retrograde step since Austria. But it was all part of the necessary process - it's what practice is for, after all - so we won't let that affect the overall ratings for Lando Norris at the British GP. In any case, it's a totally different picture when we get to qualifying where he was in the top three in all three rounds, putting himself on the front row of the grid for Sunday's race. Surely he wouldn't be able to sustain that when the lights went out? Not only did he do just that, he jumped Max Verstappen and took the lead. Naturally the Red Bull snatched it back five laps later, but Norris kept his cool and stayed with Verstappen for the rest of the race. When he was denied his "operationally difficult" choice of soft tyres at the pit stops, he didn't complain but just got on with what he'd been given - and proved that he could be as tenacious a defender as anyone, even in the face of pressure from his childhood hero Lewis Hamilton. It was an awesome display by one of the most likeable people in the sport, winning a legion of new fans who will remember this moment for years to come.
Max Verstappen (Pole, P1, Fastest lap, 26 pts): 9.5/10
Although this was Max Verstappen's eighth career hat-trick (that's a result consisting of pole position, race win, and fastest lap) it wasn't quite the impressive clean sweep that we saw in Austria, and one or two things didn't go according to plan - which is why this weekend doesn't rate another perfect ten for the reigning world champion, impressive though it was. Even Verstappen seemed to realise that he had to defer to Norris on this occasion when it came to stand-out driver of the weekend. He certainly had more problems on his hands than usual, from struggling with understeer in the wet and breaking his front wing on the pit wall on Saturday before snatching pole at the last minute, to losing the lead to Lando Norris at the start of the race and nearly succumbing to Oscar Piastri for good measure. Of course, Verstappen was soon back in charge, but he wasn't able to romp away with it this week and the decision to go to soft tyres nearly backfired when they lost grip in the closing laps. In the end it still all came together for Verstappen - of course it did, the car and the driver are just too far ahead of the rest right now - but perhaps it hints at a turning of the tide to come with more potent threats emerging from McLaren and elsewhere on the grid?
