Kevin Magnussen (Sprint P18, GP P14): 5/10
Kevin Magnussen insisted that the latest upgrades to the Haas had proved to be positive, but the team failed to maximise them in Austin. At least Magnussen made the first cut in qualifying (unlike his team mate Nico Hulkenberg), but a backward step in the Sprint Showdown and a the usual Haas tyre lamentations in the Sprint led the team to throw that away with a pit lane start on Sunday, after working on the VF-23 overnight to modify the supports. Magnussen said the work had been worthwhile, but the Dane still ended up second to last at the line.
Zhou Guanyu (Sprint P17, GP P13): 6/10
After a bit of a breakthrough in Qatar with a double points finish, it was back to stealth mode for Alfa Romeo this weekend. After a lacklustre practice, both drivers made it into the second round of qualifying and Zhou Guanyu managed to repeat the achievement in the Showdown despite a penalty for the way he passed Kevin Magnussen. They threw away his Sprint race by running Zhou on used tyres as a live test for the Sunday event. Being the first man to pit and overextending his second stint as a result compromised him in the Grand Prix, and he ended up a lap off the leaders.
