Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin (P10, 1 pt): 7.5/10
Aston Martin doesn't seem to have found the answers they had been looking for to their recent decline down the order and they continue to struggle to maintain a midfield position. Fernando Alonso is the team's reliable bedrock, and a smart, confident performance from the two-time champion paid off with a point at the chequered flag. It was the very least they would have been hoping for and it came after a late pass on the waning Nico Hulkenberg in the closing laps. Up to then it looked like Aston might miss out entirely despite both drivers having started in the top ten. Alonso lost a spot to Pierre Gasly when the lights went out and dropped as low as 14th after his late pit stop on lap 31, but he settled in behind Gasly and dispatched Alex Albon on his way to the finish in a case of 'the best we could do' on Sunday. It was more the product of experience and expertise rather than raw pace.
Pierre Gasly, Alpine (P9, 2 pts): 8.5/10
The first and most important thing for any Formula 1 driver is to out-perform their team mate - podiums, wins and titles are built from that first principle - and in that respect Pierre Gasly had a great weekend. After limited running in FP1 he was ahead of Esteban Ocon in FP2, and a well-timed lap in a rain-hit, red-flagged final practice saw him fastest of all. That was endorsed by his Q3 appearance in qualifying which bagged a top ten grid position, while Ocon had fallen at the first hurdle. Gasly then got a two place gain when the lights went out on Sunday and he held on to P7 until Carlos Sainz came calling and made a convincing case to get past. Gasly suffered a two place net drop during the pit stops but gained one of those back by passing Nico Hulkenberg on lap 60. From there he kept ahead of Fernando Alonso to the finish to claim a pair of points for Alpine.
