Esteban Ocon (P10, 1 pt): 7/10
Esteban Ocon was in the top ten in both of Friday's practice sessions, but slowest of anyone in FP3. He tried an aggressive approach to qualifying, committing two sets of tyres to Q1, only to be thwarted by traffic and then denied a final push lap by yellow flags meaning he missed the cut. At least grid penalties elsewhere promoted him to 15th for the start of Sunday's race, but he started on hard tyres and lost out to those on faster mediums. The tables finally turned when he was still to pit when the red flags stopped the race and gave him a 'free' service, and he took the restart in 11th now ahead of his Alpine team mate Pierre Gasly. The pair flew in formation to the finish, with Nico Hulkenberg's late tyre issues promoting Ocon into the points while leaving Gasly out in the cold right behind him.
Alexander Albon (P9, 2 pts): 8.5/10
Alex Albon attracted a lot of attention with his practice performances where he was second quickest behind Max Verstappen in both FP1 and FP3. He was genuinely hoping for a high grid position in qualifying - not pole perhaps, but in with a shot at the front or second row at least - which explains why he was so upset when his key Q2 lap time was deleted for cutting turn 2 leaving him starting Sunday's race in 14th instead. He gained three spots when the lights went out, ran a long first stint on hard tyres, got a 'free' pit stop with the red flag, and was on mediums for the restart that saw him emerge in ninth. It could hardly have been sweeter or better planned for the Williams driver.
