Lewis Hamilton (Sprint P7, GP P8, 6 pts): 7/10
A year ago, in what had been an otherwise dismal season for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton joined George Russell on the front row of the grid at Sao Paulo and they went on to finish in first and second. But this year, with a car that had been looking better and better over the course of the current season, Mercedes was abjectly awful in Interlagos. This time the best Hamilton could do was fifth on the grid, seven tenths behind Max Verstappen. It was a similar story in the Showdown, and the Sprint itself prefigured the Grand Prix by showing that while it might be fast at the start, the Mercedes had no straight line speed and was destroying its tyres on long runs. After a podium in Mexico, Hamilton was lucky to hang on to any points at all at one of his favourite and most successful circuits. A pretty awful performance that delivered a slap-in-the-face reality check for all at Brackley.
Pierre Gasly (Sprint P8, GP P7, 6 pts): 8/10
Pierre Gasly was annoyed to be pipped by Alpine team mate Esteban Ocon in qualifying by half a hundredth, blaming a botched gear change on his fastest Q2 lap. He was 13th again in the Showdown, and engine overheating left him distracted making set-up changes during the Sprint so he made no forward progress at all in the race. At least he enjoyed a nice duel with Fernando Alonso along the way. Having by now sorted out the settings on the A523, he had a much happier time on Sunday with two successful starts, and the Alpine team provided him with faultless service during the Grand Prix. It allowed him to work his way into the points by time the chequered flag came out, having dispatched Lewis Hamilton along the way.
