Sergio Perez, Red Bull (P6, 8 pts): 7/10
There was a sense that Sergio Perez had really dodged a bullet over the summer when Red Bull decided not to replace him - yet, at least. This weekend won't have fully cemented him in place for the rest of the season, but at the same time it did no harm. Given that Max Verstappen was far from dominant in Zandvoort, Perez' own performance was fairly decent and even Helmut Marko seemed to think it was acceptable while at the same time it didn't exactly stand-out. During practice he circulated in the midfield, then survived an impeding incident with Lewis Hamilton in qualifying before going on to top Q1 and make it through to the final round and into the top ten on the grid. He dropped a spot at the start and spent the majority of the race in sixth, losing out to Carlos Sainz but subsequently gifted a position by George Russell making a second stop. It had been a calm, comfortable, drama-free weekend, surely exactly what Perez had been hoping for to settle himself back into the cockpit. Now for hopefully better things at Monza.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (P5, 10 pts): 8.5/10
Carlos Sainz looked in good form in opening practice, although that was in wet and windy conditions where it was hard to be sure. Then in FP2 Sainz was sidelined by a catastrophic gearbox issue on his Ferrari SF-24, and with wet weather and red flags dominating final practice it meant he went into qualifying without having run a single lap on soft tyres. It was enough to make him miss the final cut, although he still started inside the top ten thanks to Alex Albon's subsequent exclusion from the results. With all that behind him, Sainz then had a really good race with early passes on both Aston Martins, and then picking off an in-form Pierre Gasly on lap 10. He was still in seventh after making his pit stop but was able to force his way past Sergio Perez with a great move on the Red Bull on lap 47. He gained another place when Mercedes brought George Russell in for a late second pit stop, and will have been delighted to cross the finish line in fifth. A really good drive by the Spaniard.
