Valtteri Bottas (P6, 8 pts): 8.5/10
There weren't many people who hadn't been sad to see Valtteri Bottas shown the door at Mercedes at the end of 2021 after five seasons of solid service, although few would argue that George Russell didn't deserve his chance. A transfer to Alfa Romeo seemed to signal a quiet run to retirement at the back of the grid for the Finn - but how wrong we were about that! Alfa have significantly upped their game over the winter, and if there is anyone capable of taking advantage of that improvement it's someone of Bottas' skills and experience. He suffered some early gremlins and missed all of FP1, but was sixth quickest in the later session and P8 in final practice. Fate then showed a sublime sense of humour by having him qualify in sixth putting him alongside former Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton on the grid. Did they exchange a friendly nod and wave before the lights went out? Unfortunately Bottas suffered terrible wheel spin and lost eight places as he tried to get going. He was still only 12th by the time he made his first pit stop, but had a productive middle stint and was running in ninth behind Pierre Gasly when the AlphaTauri suddenly erupted in flames. He took the restart behind Kevin Magnussen and wasn't able to make any impression on the Haas in the laps remaining, but the Red Bull retirement fest up ahead handed him two bonus spots in time for the chequered flag.
Kevin Magnussen (P5, 10 pts): 9/10
Kevin Magnussen had been talking about his "crazy roller coaster' ride in the last two and a half weeks, and this is one of the few times when we'd say that such florid hyperbole doesn't in fact do the extraordinary situation justice. We're as gob-smacked by what happened as the 29-year-old Dane, who to his credit didn't think twice before accepting Guenther Steiner's offer to return to the team he left at the end of 2020. The fact that the VF-22 is the best car the team has had in ages (possibly ever) added to the feeling of excitement as the promise shown in pre-season testing was proven by steady progress in free practice that culminated with seventh place on the grid in qualifying. Points seemed a genuine possibility in the race, especially when he gained two places right at the start even if they proved short-lived. Not inclined to be greedy, K-Mag settled back into seventh for the majority of the race, unable to make an impression on George Russell but able to defend himself from Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas. His patience was rewarded by gaining an extra two positions in the final laps, after both Red Bulls failed to last the distance.
