Nico Hulkenberg (P14): 5/10
In an otherwise gloomy season for Haas, Nico Hulkenberg's qualifying performances have been among the few reasons for the team to cheer. Not so here as he failed to make the first cut, after his initial lap was deleted and his second effort lost time in the middle sector for reasons that not even the driver could explain. He gained from the first lap incidents on Sunday and had picked up six places under the safety car, but this was a mirage and he fell backwards during the ensuing laps as other cars recovered positions and despite a three-stop strategy his own car exhibited the tell-tale signs of tyre degradation that have crippled Haas this year. He was tenth before his final stop but after that he was a lap down and stuck behind Zhou Guanyu in a slog to the finish. He finished ahead of his team mate, but only because Kevin Magnussen had been rudely assaulted by Sergio Perez early in the race.
Zhou Guanyu (P13): 6/10
Alfa Romeo had been feeling reasonably confident that the C43 was performing better this weekend, but that wasn't reflected in qualifying where both drivers missed the cut. Zhou Guanyu actually put in the slowest lap of anyone (not including Logan Sargeant who crashed before setting a time) meaning he started from last place on the grid in Sunday's race. That put him in the wrong place at the wrong time when cars ahead of him clashed, and he collected a piece of debris off Alex Albon's damaged Williams that forced him to come in for a new front wing under the safety car. He found little opportunity to improve during the remainder of the afternoon, and after all the pit stop strategies played out he found himself lodged behind Yuki Tsunoda all the way to the finish. He felt he was faster than the AlphaTauri, but that it was more efficient, so it didn't really mean much.
