Carlos Sainz – Williams (P8) 6.5/10
Sainz was fuming at Williams’ early pit call, watching teammate Albon shine by staying out. Starting sixth, he hoped for more but was stuck climbing a strategic Everest after the team’s blunder. Holding onto P8 was a decent salvage job, but Carlos will be side-eyeing the strategy wall for days. A missed opportunity for a driver of his caliber.
George Russell – Mercedes (P7) 7/10
Russell was caught in a bad game of Safety Car roulette at Imola! Starting P3, Russell’s race unraveled when his first stop dropped him to 16th. He clawed back to sixth with some feisty wheel-to-wheel action, only for Hamilton to snatch P7 from him late on. Rear tyre woes didn’t help, but Russell’s hard-charging spirit kept him in the fight. A solid recovery, though he’ll curse those pesky Safety Car timings and a silver arrow that still can’t take the heat on race day.
