Daniel Ricciardo, RB (Fastest lap, P18): 5.5/10
Heading into the weekend, there was a sudden surge of reports that Daniel Ricciardo was embarking on his final race and that RB would use the long gap until Austin to promote Liam Lawson into the team for the final rounds. Maybe that speculation became self-fulfilling because the whole weekend was practically a text book example of why Ricciardo's time in F1 really is over. Surprisingly, both RB drivers had a good time on Friday. However Ricciardo couldn't deliver on that promise on Saturday and ended up missing the first cut, while Yuki Tsunoda sustained his form and went through to the final round. The team put Ricciardo on soft tyres at the start, but much as Mercedes found with Lewis Hamilton this was the wrong call, one that fatally compromised his evening. He had a last minute pit stop for softs to set the fastest lap (getting no point for it, just denying it to Lando Norris) and was rewarded by the fans for his years of service who named him Driver of the Day. But really but all it did was confirm that this was a final elegy and lament for Ricciardo.
Pierre Gasly, Alpine (P17): 5/10
A horrible weekend for Pierre Gasly who never seemed to find his footing in Singapore, bumping along near the bottom in practice and duly missing the first cut in qualifying. Only in FP3 did he finish ahead of his Alpine team mate Esteban Ocon who was having an overall much better weekend. He deserves credit for pulling off a 37 lap first stint on mediums (only Oscar Piastri went one better) but finishing the race on the soft compound proved the wrong call. By the end the only car behind him on track was Daniel Ricciardo who had made a similar soft tyre tactical mistake in the race. Overall it was probably Gasly's weakest weekend of the season to date: "We are just not quick or competitive enough at the moment," he said afterward.
