Lando Norris (P4, 12 pts): 8.5/10
After a brilliant run of races that included his maiden Formula 1 victory in Miami, this was a somewhat more ordinary weekend for Lando Norris who was rather outperformed by his McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri from the start. Piastri duly took the front row spot on the grid alongside Charles Leclerc, but Norris didn't seem flustered and simply kept going about his business. When it appeared that Carlos Sainz was out of the race at the original start, Norris was looking at a potential podium. But the red flag restoring the original starting order meant Sainz was back in his way and Norris had little option than to sit back and watch the race ahead unfold, confident in the knowledge that George Russell was receding into the distance behind him. Norris had enough time to check out potential new apartments or yachts to buy in the principality now he's a top F1 star, but there no realistic opportunity to push his way onto the podium real estate.
Carlos Sainz (P3, 15 pts): 8/10
Carlos Sainz flirted with disaster at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix when he tangled with Oscar Piastri in a bid to snatch second place, and he was a very lucky boy indeed to get away with it. Before then he hadn't looked to be anywhere near his Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc in terms of speed in practice, and it was frankly a bit of a surprise when he managed to pip Lando Norris to third place on the grid in qualifying. His innocuous clash with Piastri at the start of the race left him with a puncture that sent him off at Casino, and on any other day that would have been his race ruined. He was saved by a red flag for Sergio Perez' much bigger accident and was especially lucky that it happened just before the leaders had crossed the first timing line or else he would have been at the back for the restart. Given a second chance, Sainz didn't waste it: the rest of Sunday went entirely according to plan for the Spaniard, who as a result of the race is now up to P4 in the drivers championship ahead of the hapless Perez.
