Lewis Hamilton (P6, 8 pts): 7/10
Lewis Hamilton was putting on a brave face after a solid time in practice on Friday, talking up the improvements that had been made with Mercedes' latest package of upgrades, but by Sunday evening he was back to grumbling about the team being in "no man's land". He nearly came a cropper in the first round of qualifying but just scraped through, making it into the final top ten pole shoot-out round, but he was quite a step back from the performance of his team mate. He had a solid start to the race and emerged into a fierce duel with Lance Stroll when he came back out from his pit stop. Despite running into the gravel at one point he eventually settled in behind Russell who had pitted seven laps earlier. That difference was enough for the team to call Russell in a second time for new tyres while Hamilton was able to stay out and gain a place.
Carlos Sainz (P5, 10 pts): 8/10
That brilliant burst of form he showed after his appendectomy seems to have faded away with the surgical scars. Carlos Sainz is back to being second best at Ferrari behind his team mate Charles Leclerc, who is once again back to being the strongest of the pair having been fastest of anyone in both Friday sessions. Sainz was just ahead in FP3 but Leclerc was back in front of him in qualifying and Sainz had to settle for fifth on the grid. A solid first stint saw him briefly in the lead but the cost of staying out for 27 laps was that he allowed Oscar Piastri to achieve the undercut and insert himself between the two Ferraris, a status that remained firmly quo for the rest of the afternoon.
