Valtteri Bottas, Sauber (P16): 5/10
We have to be mean to Valtteri Bottas, even if a lot of the blame goes to Sauber's complete lack of performance and the absence of any sign of significant development as they remain blinkered about their Audi transition in 2026. It makes you wonder if a team should be relegated from F1 if they put so little effort into deserving their place on the grid for four or five years. Bottas has usually been the silver lining to the team's weekend but this was a shocker. Even with his penalty-hit team mate Zhou Guanyu providing a tow in qualifying, Bottas was seven tenths off making the first cut. From 16th place on the grid he immediately found reverse gear and began a spirited fight with Lance Stroll over who got to be last. When Stroll came out top, Bottas was left battling his team mate instead and he lost that one too. He was the last man running under the Virtual Safety Car and gave us nothing to reward him with when it came to the rating. He was so lifeless, you almost wonder whether he might have been given bad news about his future at Hinwil right before the weekend.
Esteban Ocon, Alpine (P15): 5.5/10
It was a horrible weekend for Esteban Ocon, although let's be clear: it wasn't all his own fault by any means. He didn't get any running in first practice because of an MGU-H issue, and was sidelined again on Saturday morning with a further power unit issue. On a tricky street circuit like Baku, losing two out of the three practice sessions is very hard to overcome which explains why he was slowest of anyone in the first round of qualifying. He didn't gain from the various overnight penalties as he was among them, Alpine working on his car in the vain hope of fixing some of its ailments meaning he joined the race from pit lane. By the end of the race he was still right at the back, sandwiched between the two Sauber cars. Crossing the line behind Zhou Guanyu was a most mortifying way for Ocon to mark his 150th race start in Formula 1.
