Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing (P8, 4 pts): 7/10
The good news is that there were no obvious disasters for Sergio Perez this weekend and there's no pitchfork-wielding mob calling for his head. At the same time there was little spark as the Mexican toiled to a solid but nonetheless underwhelming eighth place in qualifying and in the race. The really noteworthy thing is that his team mate Max Verstappen and Red Bull as a whole fared little better and were in pretty much exactly the same position. That brilliant form that elevated them to titles in 2022 and 2023 seems to have evaporated into thin air almost overnight and no one knows where it's gone or how to fix it. Perez seemed to realise the situation early on\ and just kept his head down, plugging away with the only excitement coming from a mid-race tussle with George Russell. That the Mercedes came out of the encounter on top is more a reflection on the problems at Red Bull than it is on Perez, who seems increasingly likely to see out the season now the team is preoccupied with much bigger matters.
George Russell, Mercedes (P7, 6 pts): 7/10
You have to think that George Russell would have been in the running for a podium this week if not for what happened at the start of the race. Starting from third place he attempted to press his luck with an immediate attack for second on Piastri; if he'd done it, Charles Leclerc's example showed he might have been in with a chance of victory. Instead he was forced to take to the escape road, damaged his front wing, and that was pretty much the end of his chances for the afternoon. He plodded home in seventh, kicking himself and taking the blame for that first corner incident. "My race came undone at the first corner," he said. "I made a good start but got caught in the dirty air behind Piastri. I locked up to avoid him. Ultimately we didn't have the pace to fight for the podium."
