Nico Hulkenberg (Sprint P18, GP P12, 0 pts): 6/10
Nico Hulkenberg continues to impress in bursts in qualifying. On Friday he was just a fraction away from making it into the final top ten pole shootout range. He did well in the Showdown, but as soon as it came to race distances - even the shortened 24-lap Sprint - the Haas once again ate up its tyres despite the team taking the precaution of putting him on mediums rather than the softs used by the majority of drivers. "I don't think the type of tyres really mattered, the car is just bad here," he admitted. On Sunday he survived his role in the multi-car accident at the start, and the number of retirements helped counteract the degradation. He finished in 12th, which sounds good until you realise he was out-performed by Williams' Logan Sargeant.
Logan Sargeant (Sprint P20, GP P11, 0 pts): 6.5/10
Logan Sargeant got his first championship point in the United States (subject to the outcome of a late appeal from Haas) but bowed out of the Mexican GP early with a fuel pump issue. This week in Brazil was middle ground - no points, but a solid performance by the American rookie which was generally mistake-free and about as good as the FW45 was capable of, as proven by the similarly relatively subdued performance of his team mate Alex Albon. A small mistake in his final qualifying run meant he finished last-but-one in Q1, and he was dead last in the Showdown and Sprint events on Saturday, but he did have the satisfaction of finishing ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and just one place away from the points in the Grand Prix.
