Pierre Gasly (P10, 1 pt): 6.5/10
It was a tale of mixed fortunes for Pierre Gasly this weekend. It started badly on Friday when limited running due to power unit issues left him last in FP1, but he perked up on Saturday where he was just outside the top ten and ahead of his Alpine team mate Esteban Ocon. The Monaco circuit tends to disguise the deficiencies of the slower cars, but even allowing for that it was a surprise when he did manage to make the final cut while Ocon just fell short. It meant they went into the opening corners of the race together, and Ocon made a strike at Portier despite a reported internal team agreement that they wouldn't fight each other at the start. Ocon came off the worse for the contact while Gasly's car was miraculously in one piece. Taking the restart from tenth, he didn't budge from there the entire afternoon and duly clinched his maiden point of 2024 before marching back to the Alpine trailer to have it out with Ocon.
Alexander Albon (P9, 2 pts): 8/10
Williams has not been in the best of form this season. Whereas Q2 appearances were a regular outcome for Alex Albon last year with an occasional foray into the final round, such bright spots have been few and far between so far this season. The unique nature of the Monaco circuit helped cover over their deficiencies compared to their rivals and Albon had a solid time in practice, although making it through to the final round of qualifying still looked a bit touch and go. When it came down to the wire, Albon was helped by the unexpected early exits of Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso to take ninth. Given how hard overtaking is at Monaco, that gave him a real chance of points; in the event, an even more processional race than usual made it a slam dunk. Whatever else happens, Williams will not go into the winter without points to keep them warm.
