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The 2023 F1 Canadian GP comes at an opportune moment for quite a few drivers. With a packed calendar it does become tough for a driver to sit back and analyse what's going wrong. More often than not when a driver hits a bad patch the double or triple headers are arguably the worst thing that could happen.
A driver could try to just power through the bad phases but more often than not, it does not happen that way. What's needed is a learned approach that could be followed when the driver has a break and he gets time to think things over. That is exactly what this one-week break for one is going to do for these drivers.
Now, both recharged and re-energized, drivers will be heading to the 2023 F1 Canadian GP desperate to get a strong result in place. Having said that, there are some drivers that would arguably be more desperate than others to get things right. Which are these drivers that desperately need a strong result? Well, let's take a look.
2023 F1 Canadian GP: Drivers desperate for a strong result
#1 Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc has lost close to 50 points this season and has scored only 42 points this season. It has been a season from hell for the Ferrari driver where out of seven races, he's either had something compromised because of the team or his own actions in six of these races.
This is just a poor run that the Ferrari driver has been going through and it's hard to deny that this won't be weighing on him severely. Leclerc tends to be a very emotional character. That has been his strength and sometimes his weakness as well.
Heading into the 2023 F1 Canadian GP, it does appear that the driver will be desperate to get the season going. There have been far too many things going wrong during a race weekend and he will be hoping that for a change, a weekend where either the car goes wrong, or the team makes an error or he himself does something wrong is not in the offing.
Leclerc will be hoping to kickstart the 2023 F1 campaign in Canada after far too many mishaps for a season.
#2 Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez's deficit to Max Verstappen was in single digits after the race in Baku. Heading to the 2023 F1 Canadian GP, the gap to the Dutch driver is now 53 points. That's a major deficit for any championship battle. Especially since you are driving for the same team.
For Sergio Perez, the last three races have been a reality check. There have been errors, there have been moments where he has pushed too hard and there have been sessions where he has just been outperformed. This is basically what happens when you have Max Verstappen as your teammate.
In Verstappen, Sergio Perez has a foe that performs at a very high level, does not have off-weekends, and most importantly, does not make mistakes. This is the mountain that Perez has to climb at the 2023 F1 Canadian GP.
Having said that, every driver aspires to be a world champion and for Perez, this has to be the best opportunity of his career. For him to even stay in the fight, he needs to beat Max Verstappen at the 2023 F1 Canadian GP, and for all intents and purposes that should be the plan this weekend.
#3 Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Bottas is having a season from hell in 2023 and realizing that taking the foot off the pedal can have a serious impact on performance.
The Finnish driver has had quite a few off-weekends and it's hard to understand why that is the case. The driver has even found it hard to keep up with teammate Guanyu Zhou who has been surprisingly impressive this season.
We've seen Bottas in a far more serious and far more mellowed version during his Mercedes years. At the time, he was battling Lewis Hamilton for the title and was putting every ounce of his energy into beating one of the best talents in F1. The reality of the Finnish driver's career has changed now.
Most importantly he's happy and there's nothing wrong with that. He also likes to have a little fun here and there which is also something anyone can fault him for. Having said that, these outside endeavors come at a cost and the cost is the drop in his performance. The drop in Bottas' performance is evident and there's no denying that him taking a step back has played a role.
The 2023 F1 Canadian GP has been a happy hunting ground for the Finnish driver and he will be hoping for a better run this weekend.
