Oscar Piastri (P4, 12 pts): 8.5/10
Oscar Piastri had a quiet start to the weekend, but by FP2 he was up to speed with his McLaren team mate Lando Norris and duly pipped him in qualifying to line up in fifth place on the grid. That proved crucial in the race, where he was able to get ahead of Fernando Alonso at the start. As the lead McLaren on track he had first call on team strategy when the safety car came out, and was among those drivers pitting for hard tyres to see him through to the end of the race. By contrast, Norris stayed out rather than lose time 'double stacking' or getting held up by pit lane congestion. Ultimately that was the difference between Piastri finishing in fourth and Norris ending up in eighth. Lewis Hamilton also stayed out and much of Piastri's mid-race effort was in trying - and ultimately failing - to pass the Mercedes. Hamilton finally had to cede position when he made his overdue pit stop, but it was one of the best battles on track while it lasted.
Charles Leclerc (Fastest lap, P3, 16 pts): 8.5/10
We wonder how much of Charles Leclerc's weekend was affected by what was happening on the other side of the garage, with Carlos Sainz unwell on Thursday and then in hospital on Friday, leaving Leclerc coping with a brand new rookie team mate. Outwardly the Monegasque appeared unruffled by all the drama and duly put himself on the front row of the grid in qualifying. He didn't have much chance of passing Max Verstappen at the start and on lap 4 the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez made easy work of him. In fact Leclerc all but pulled to one side, sensing the inevitability of what was to come whatever resistance he was able to put up. After that, Verstappen and Perez disappeared into the night and Leclerc was able to amble around for the remaining podium spot. Stealing the bonus point for fastest lap right at the end was a nice touch.
