Kevin Magnussen, Haas (SP9, P8, 4 pts): 8/10
There hadn't been any pre-season signs that Haas would have much success this year, but new principal Ayao Komatsu has clearly been quietly getting on with business and for the second time this year they pulled off a double points finish in the Grand Prix with the best results of the season so far for both Kevin Magnussen and his team mate Nico Hulkenberg. They didn't have such a great start in the Sprint - although Magnussen came close to a point, Hulkenberg had an atypical nightmare in qualifying and started and finished near the back. Magnussen missed out on the final round of qualifying for the Grand Prix but he made up two places at the start in the wake of the Leclerc/Piastri contact and by passing Daniel Ricciardo. Both Haas opted for very early stops which allowed them to make up time in clear air before the others came in, and that set them up nicely for the rest of the race. Hulkenberg managed the overcut on Magnussen, who was subsequently understandably unable to prevent Sergio Perez passing him on lap 55 despite damage to the Red Bull's sidepod.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull (SP8, P7, 7 pts): 6/10
Although he's no longer making a habit of missing the first cut in qualifying, Sergio Perez is by no means out of the woods just yet. Although seventh place in Sprint qualifying is a respectable if not outstanding result, the fact that he was nearly a second and a half slower than his team mate Max Verstappen is simply not acceptable. He then lost out to Charles Leclerc in the Sprint leaving him clinging to a solitary point at the finish. In the race he had the misfortune of getting caught up in the Leclerc/Oscar Piastri clash at the start and incurring damage to his sidepod, but that just highlighted the fact that he wasn't there when the team needed him to be to pick up the banner after Verstappen hit problems in the closing laps tangling with Lando Norris.
