Esteban Ocon (Gearbox, Lap 43): 8/10
Alpine was looking in trouble throughout practice in Singapore - their best showing was Esteban Ocon's P10 in the final session. But they perked up in time for qualifying and Ocon made it through to the final round earning himself a top ten spot on the grid, and then put in a rather fabulous performance in the race on his 27th birthday. He looked on course to finish in sixth place or better when suddenly the gearbox started grinding its way to an early death and he was forced to pull over on lap 43. The team's many technical issues this season do seem to be unfairly weighted against Ocon, which is ironic since last year it was his then-team mate Fernando Alonso who got the lion's share of the ill-fortune. Now Ocon knows what it feels like.
Valtteri Bottas (Retirement, Lap 52): 5.5/10
Alfa Romeo might have arrived at Singapore with a load of new upgrades (front wing, diffuser, floor, rear brake scoops and more, oh my) but they might have picked them off the second hand parts pile for all the good they made to the team's fortunes this week. Valtteri Bottas thought the C43 was more efficient but he still missed the first cut in qualifying albeit in part due to an early red flag finish. Starting on the hard compound and running for 40 laps did him no favours in Sunday anymore than it did Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez, with the safety car timings ultimately acting against all three of them. Bottas found himself bumping along in 15th place by the time overheating became a chronic issue, and with nothing to gain Alfa decided discretion and an early night was called for.
