Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari (P4) 8/10
After the race, Hamilton was disappointed after struggling with the balance of his Ferrari, calling his SF-25 car “the most difficult I’ve driven”. Despite this it was a good result from the seven-time World Champion to finish in fourth, finally outclassing his teammate and challenging but ultimately failing to capture that first Grand Prix podium for Ferrari.
Nico Hulkenberg, Kick Sauber (P3) 10/10
How can we give anything other than a perfect score for Hulkenberg? On his 239th race, the German finally got that podium that he had been dreaming about ever since his F1 debut 15 years ago. And it couldn’t have been under a more unlikely circumstance. He qualified in 19th place and looked set to remain outside the top ten with a subpar Kick Sauber car, but solid pace, perfect strategy calls and competitors crashing and spinning all around him promoted Hulkenberg up into the points. This was followed by a mighty pass on Stroll for third and a defensive masterclass against a charging Hamilton in the closing stages to secure an unlikely third place. No one was upset that he denied Hamilton a podium, no one.
