Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin (P8, 4 pts): 7.5/10
There's a feeling that Aston Martin has moved on from 2024 and is already looking ahead to next season, because there's little sign of improvement or upgrades coming on stream to revive them at the moment. Fernando Alonso seems to be well aware of his and is settling in for the hard grind to the finish so they can get started on the next phase. For now it's head down and focus on punching out the best performance he can in the circumstances. And being Fernando Alonso, that's still pretty good. His practice performance teased a spot in the final round of qualifying, and that's just what he achieved to start from seventh on the grid. He inevitably fell foul of the recovering Ferraris, but managed to undercut Nico Hulkenberg when it mattered to take eighth place behind Carlos Sainz for the final run to the chequered flag.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (P7, 6 pts): 7/10
Ferrari looked to be in flying form on Friday. While Charles Leclerc was the main threat to McLaren's Lando Norris from the get-go, Carlos Sainz was best of the rest in both first and second practice. But something went awry on Saturday and both Ferrari drivers found it harder going; and then came that shocking moment went Sainz ran into the wall at the start of Q3 before he could set a lap time, meaning that he would be starting from tenth. Even more of a shocker was to find Leclerc next to him on the grid on Sunday. The team put Sainz on a short first stint (just as well, as he lost places at the start), pitting on lap 13 to get him out of the on-track congestion. It paid off as he rose through the positions to reach P6. He regifted a spot to his team mate who was on much fresher tyres, and watched Leclerc dispatch Lewis Hamilton but wasn't able to follow suit. By the finish he was the last man on the lead lap. Not bad, but it could - and should - have been more.
