Zhou Guanyu (Accident, Lap 63): 6/10
Zhou Guanyu never looked happy at Zandvoort, and his highest placing during practice was a mere P15 in FP2, at no time coming close to matching the pace of his Alfa Romeo team mate Valtteri Bottas. There wasn't much surprise then when he just missed the cut at the end of the first round of qualifying although he was at least ahead of the Finn this time. He got a fortunate break when he was among those to make an immediate pit stop for intermediates at the end of lap 1 as the rain fell, and as a result found himself running in second place behind Sergio Perez. It couldn't last of course and faster cars soon came cruising past, leaving him in a still-creditable sixth place. When the rain stopped the team opted to put him back out on mediums in the hope of a longer stint, but that did't work out well for him and by the time he pitted again on lap 37 for softs he was down in 12th. That's where he remained until the rain returned with a vengeance and he aquaplaned off into the barrier in appalling conditions on lap 63. He was just happy not to have been injured in the violent conclusion to his race.
George Russell (P17): 7.5/10
George Russell's practice pace on Friday gave real cause for concern (P11 and P14 respectively in FP1 and FP2) but then out of the blue he excelled on Saturday, coming second in final practice and then claiming third place in qualifying (temporarily silencing the critics, especially when his team mate Lewis Hamilton missed the cut at the end of Q2 due to traffic). He was looking forward to a fun Sunday afternoon with his best mates Lando Norris and Alex Albon around him, although at no time did he seriously expect to be challenging Max Verstappen for victory. Instead it all went wrong for the Mercedes driver, who tried staying out on slicks during the initial heavy shower only to pit on lap 4 for inters, then back in again on lap 10 for softs, and then using the safety car for Logan Sargeant's accident to salvage his race with a switch to the hard compound and a bid to make it to the finish. Even before the race was red-flagged for more rain that gambit had fallen flat, but he was still in with a shot of finishing in the top eight after the restart - only for a puncture from clashing with Norris forcing him to pit again and drop him out of the running altogether. Russell really deserved better this weekend.
