George Russell (P6, 9 pts): 8/10
Ever since Lewis Hamilton's announcement that he was quitting Mercedes at the end of the year, it feels like the balance of power has tipped in George Russell's favour. That wasn't the case in the Chinese GP Sprint qualifying where the wet weather contributed to a disappointing grid position for Russell for Saturday's race, but he did eventually manage to battle back into the points. In the Grand Prix it was Hamilton with the qualifying disaster, while Russell started from eighth and ambushed the two Ferrari drivers on the first lap. Inevitably the W15 didn't have the pace to allow him to stay ahead for very long, but Russell managed his tyres well during the race and came home in sixth place - a solid performance from the young Briton, and about as good as the Mercedes is currently capable of delivering.
Carlos Sainz (P5, 14 pts): 7.5/10
Carlos Sainz has been on fire ever since his enforced absence from the Saudi Arabian GP, but this weekend he looked more subdued. He struggled to match the pace of his team mate Charles Leclerc, although he arguably fared better than the Monegasque when required to pull off a long stint on the hard tyres in the race. Overall though this wasn't a great race for the team as a whole which looked a bit flat in Shanghai by their own high standards. They came close to getting on the podium in the Sprint, but on Sunday they were initially jumped by George Russell and subsequently unable to carry the fight to Lando Norris in the McLaren. Not a disaster by any means, but this was Sainz and Ferrari back in neutral.
