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The 2023 F1 Imola GP is arguably one of the most critical races of the season in so many ways.
This will be the first race of the ongoing campaign where almost every team will bring their first major upgrades for the car. With the European leg of the season starting in Imola, this is the first opportunity for teams to bring extensive upgrades to their vehicles.
With the 2023 F1 Imola GP not being a 'sprint format' weekend, this also gives the teams an added opportunity to test the upgrades and fine-tune their cars accordingly.
As expected, multiple teams are scheduled to bring upgrades to their cars that could possibly jolt them up the order. A lot of these teams will be hoping for that desired impact as they try to make further progress up the field from where they find themselves right now.
Having said that, there are a few teams that would arguably be more desperate than others when it comes to making their upgrades work. In this feature for the 2023 F1 Imola GP, we will take a look at the top 3 teams that are desperate for a strong result this weekend.
2023 F1 Imola GP: Teams that need a good weekend
#1 Ferrari
The 2023 F1 Imola GP is the first of the two home races for Ferrari and pressure will once again be on the team to deliver.
It's more than obvious for now that the Italian team just does not have the car to challenge for wins at this stage of the season. The car is not a Red Bull beater over a race distance and that is abundantly clear to anyone that has seen the first five races of the season.
Having said that, the car is capable of fighting for that third slot on the podium. There's hardly any argument on that front and Charles Leclerc even showed it in Baku.
One of the major issues for Ferrari has been its inability to string things together this season. Other than Baku, reliability issues in Bahrain and Saudi (a consequence of Bahrain) multiplied by driver mistakes in Australia and Miami have meant that the team has recorded just one podium finish.
At the 2023 F1 Imola GP, Ferrari is expected to bring its major upgrade package. Can the package bring the kind of gains that help the team close the gap to Red Bull? That would certainly be the expectation. Ferrari will be hoping for at least a podium this weekend as pressure continues to ramp up on the Italian squad.
#2 Alpine
Laurent Rossi's blunt but honest assessment would have surely proved to be a destabilizing force in Alpine's rather unfruitful start to the season.
The car is fifth fastest in the pecking order if we consider what has happened in the first five races. While it does find itself fifth in the standings as well, there have been too many missed opportunities this season.
The race in Australia was just unlucky, the weekend in Baku was a write-off, and Bahrain was just one error after another. Miami and Jeddah were the two straightforward weekends and that have seen the team score decent points.
Even if we take that into consideration, it's hard to dispute that all is not well at Alpine. The team was expecting to be fourth fastest but has not come anywhere close to accomplishing that.
Additionally, the first bunch of upgrades in Baku did not bring as big an advantage as was initially expected. In a battle of finding stable momentum and gaining performance on the frontrunners, Alpine will be looking to find the right balance at the 2023 F1 Imola GP.
#3 Mercedes
Mercedes is expected to bring an 80% new car to the 2023 F1 Imola GP.
How will that car look? What can we expect? It's hard to quantify any of these things. However, it's safe to say at this stage that everyone will be hoping it helps Mercedes close the gap to Red Bull.
After the race in Miami, an exasperated Lewis Hamilton admitted he could not wait for the upgrade scheduled for the 2023 F1 Imola GP. There was even a hint of desperation in Hamilton's voice as he was getting tired of driving a car that lacked the competitiveness of fighting at the front.
The trajectory of this season will depend on what Mercedes brings for the 2023 F1 Imola GP. If we don't see a substantial change in the competitiveness of the car, the year could be a long one for the team and its drivers.
