Lando Norris (P8, 4 pts):: 8/10
Lando Norris will have enjoyed leading the Saudi Arabian GP for five laps, but he must have known all along that it couldn't last. He was promoted to the front by opting not to pit under the early safety car, concerned that he would be held up behind his McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri waiting for service. It was a reasonable decision to stay out, especially given that more cautions and safety cars seemed likely to happen at Jeddah. But they didn't materialise and instead Norris dropped to eighth once he finally did come in for fresh tyres on lap 37. Despite taking a set of used softs for the final 14 laps, by then there was nothing he could do about catching and passing rookie driver Oliver Bearman in the Ferrari.
Oliver Bearman (P7, 6 pts): 9/10
We make no secret that we're giving Oliver Bearman an extra point for what he was able to achieve this weekend as a last-minute stand-in for the unwell Carlos Sainz. To be able to finish in the top ten in FP3 with just three hours notice that he would be taking part is itself impressive. He just missed out on the final round of qualifying (and what a sensation it would have been if in the process he'd managed to knock out Lewis Hamilton). In the race he followed his team's advice not to attempt any heroics but to focus on bringing the car home in one piece. he duly avoided any serious mistakes or errors on Saturday to cross the line in seventh, having held off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton for the final dozen laps. The best compliment you could pay Bearman is that on the night, no one could possibly be able to tell from the way that he drove that he was a first time rookie driver: he just looked the real deal.
