Yuki Tsunoda (P12): 7/10
It must have been dispiriting for Yuki Tsunoda, knowing that he was heading into the Mexican Grand Prix assured of a back row start after the team fitted new engine components to his AlphaTauri. In many ways the foreknowledge of knowing that he had no chance of points this week brought out the best in the Japanese racer, who committed himself to supporting team mate Daniel Ricciardo including offering vital tows in qualifying. He was rewarded for his pains by a pretty decent race, and he was looking good in eighth after the restart until he tangled with Oscar Piastri on lap 49 and ended up dropping to the back from which there was no escaping in the time remaining. A shame given all his efforts and the undoubted form of the AT04, as demonstrated by Ricciardo's points finish.
Pierre Gasly (P11): 6.5/10
Pierre Gasly was strangely anonymous this weekend after missing out on first practice in favour of Jack Doohan. Finishing just on the wrong side of the top ten boundary is a fair summary of his weekend as a whole. He was 16th in FP2, 18th in FP3, but still managed to make it through to the second round of qualifying - unlike his Alpine team mate Esteban Ocon. Starting from 11th he jumped into the top ten at the start and should have been a contender for points after peaking in sixth before his pit stop. The timing of the red flag was not in his favour, and Ocon overtook him at the restart. He spent the second half of the race in his team mate's dirty air, which meant that while Ocon picked up a point, Gasly came away from Mexico empty-handed.
