Esteban Ocon, Alpine (P14): 5/10
Esteban Ocon lagged behind his Alpine team mate Pierre Gasly throughout practice. While they both made it through to the second round of qualifying, Ocon once again ended up just behind Gasly when it came to the grid. Ocon eventually managed to get in front when Gasly opted for an early pit stop on lap 10 while Ocon stayed out on the hard tyres all the way to lap 31. It was this difference between them that proved the decisive factor and the reason why Ocon came home just ahead of Gasly at the finish. However there's not really much to crow about and it was a thoroughly lacklustre outing for the squad, with factory employees from its engine department at Viry-Chatillon present in the grandstands to protest about the decisions of senior management at Renault. Ocon could probably empathise with them.
Daniel Ricciardo, RB (P13): 6/10
This might be a long way short of his vintage performances of old - and no where enough to keep him in the running for a return to Red Bull anytime soon - but Daniel Ricciardo succeeded in ticking off most of his to-do list in Monza. He was ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in every single session and started the race from a decent 12th place, while Tsunoda failed to make the first cut. He clashed with Nico Hulkenberg at the start and was handed a five second penalty for causing a collision, which the team failed to serve correctly at the next round of pit stops (a crew member touched the front wing when he shouldn't have) meaning he got a further ten second sanction. Given such setbacks he did well to finish the race as high up as he did, but the initial inciting incident was down to him which had to count as a blot on his copybook as far as his rating is concerned.
