Nico Hulkenberg (P10, 1 pt): 7.5/10
Last year the Haas could barely complete a single race lap without fatally shredding its tyres in the process. (We exaggerate, but only slightly.) Compare that to 2024 where Nico Hulkenberg was able to extend his initial set of medium tyres to run 33 laps before pitting for a set of hards: that's real progress by the team, and good driving by Hulkenberg. Some good strategy from the pit wall and a helping hand from his team mate Kevin Magnussen gave him the space on track to make his pit stop and come back out within reach of the top ten. He duly drove to the finish to pick up Haas' first championship point of the season. The VF-24 is already looking streets ahead of its predecessor, and Hulkenberg the driver best placed to take advantage.
Lewis Hamilton (P9, 2 pts): 8/10
Not the best of weekends for Lewis Hamilton, but his defensive driving against Oscar Piastri after the safety car restart deserves extra credit. Overall though it's clear that Mercedes haven't achieved what the team was hoping for with the W15, and amid talk of bottoming and overheating there is the more serious issue of the car looking as difficult to get the rear end to behave as last year's 'diva'. Hamilton is certainly not enjoying himself and is consistently coming up second to his team mate George Russell, but he's able to enjoy himself when in a straight fight with a rival like Piastri, holding the McLaren at bay until it was time for him to pit. The alternate strategy he found himself on didn't break Hamilton's way this time, but it was worth a shot.
