Carlos Sainz – 6 – A fresh trim for the weekend wasn’t quite enough to see the Spaniard trouble the points for a second race in a row. But it felt like he got the most out of the equipment he has at Williams, with no heroics.
Franco Colapinto – 4 – How quickly things can change after an immense race in China. Not at one with the Alpine car, and a scary moment slowing heavily into Spoon Curve causing Ollie Bearman’s 50G crash is a stark reminder of the safety measures implemented in today’s Formula 1.
Sergio Perez – 7 – A rocky start to the weekend, colliding with the Williams of Alex Albon and still complaining of various, vague deployment issues. But outqualified Cadillac team-mate Valtteri Bottas and ahead of both Aston Martins in the race.
Fernando Alonso – 7 – First time seeing the chequered flag this year! I think that’s the only high Alonso and Aston Martin can take from this weekend. A much needed few weeks now before the Miami Grand Prix.
Valtteri Bottas – 6 – Despite having an upgrade on the car and seemingly making improvements, Perez had the better of him in Japan.
Alex Albon – 5 – Another tough weekend and some cryptic radio messages in qualifying highlight all is not well within the Williams camp. Sacrificed his race for a testing session.
Lance Stroll – 5 – A second consecutive year qualifying last for the Japanese Grand Prix and pretty much glued to the back of the pack until Aston Martin retired the car.
Oliver Bearman – 4 – Having been one of the stars of the season so far, Japan did not go his way. Bearman was eliminated in Q1 with a suspected technical issue but even when he could get a lap in he didn’t deliver on pace. The crash in the race wasn’t his fault but perhaps he could have judged his overspeed a tad better – easy for me to say. Thankfully, he walked away from a huge shunt and will have time to recover fully before we go racing again in early May.