Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls (P8): 8/10
What a turnaround it has been for Hadjar since his heartbreaking weekend in Melbourne. Despite suffering significant pain with a seatbelt issue for much of Qualifying, the young Frenchman managed to place his Racing Bulls car P7 on the starting grid, ahead of the Ferrari of Hamilton. The race itself was a lot less eventful for Hadjar, who despite losing out to Hamilton maintained a good pace and brought his VCARB 02 across the line in eighth place.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari (P7): 6/10
Hamilton gambled by starting on the hard tyre when everyone else opted for mediums on a slightly damp track. But it seemed to be working for the seven-time World Champion, as he wasn’t losing any time to those ahead of him and even overtook the Racing Bulls’ of Hadjar into Turn 1 of the sixth tour. He made his hards last until lap 30, but then appeared to lose fundamental pace on the medium tyre, curiously losing time to rookie Antonelli ahead of him in a Mercedes. Hamilton later explained that an underperforming component on his SF-25 has been holding him back; he will be hoping that his recent fortunes turn around come Bahrain.
