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The 2023 F1 Miami GP comes at the right time for drivers who did not have a not-so-impressive showing at Baku last Sunday.
The sprint format weekend was not ideal, and it left some teams in a very compromised position. Alpine, for instance, had a complete disaster, while Haas were not too far behind in terms of messing up the entire weekend.
Moreover, the proximity of the walls and the somewhat chaotic nature of the weekend meant many drivers are heading to the Miami GP desperate to shrug off the poor taste of Baku. Who are these drivers? Well, let's take a look.
2023 F1 Miami GP: Top drivers who need a pick-me-up
#1 Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen tends to keep things simple more often than not. Here's a simple task he needs to follow this weekend: he has to beat his teammate Sergio Perez to win the 2023 Miami GP. As the days have passed by, the sour taste of defeat in baku would have only gotten bitter for Red Bull's double world champion.
Especially, as this is the first time there's no asterisk attached to his loss, unlike many other races. The balance of power in Red Bull has seen a seismic change this season, with Perez doing a brilliant job. Moreover, for a change. the Mexican is not the one struggling with the car; it's Verstappen.
Last season, suggestions of Sergio Perez being a potential challenger to Verstappen emerged after the Mexican's win in Monaco and then in Baku. Last season, it was Verstappen silencing everyone by beating Perez by a margin of over 20 seconds in the very next race he got beaten. At the 2023 Miami GP, he could be planning to do something similar.
#2 Carlos Sainz
Sainz's confidence would have faced a next-level shattering at Baku, as he was utterly dominated by his teammate Charles Leclerc. The difference between the two was like night and day, making one almost think why they were so far apart.
Sainz has yet to find the answer to this question. The Spaniard put down his struggles to some setup issues, nervousness with the car, and Leclerc being a potent force in Baku.
All these factors could be legitimate, but you cannot expect the two drivers in the same team to have such divergent performances. It's not good for the morale of the team. Moreover, it means that one driver is unable to extract the most out of the car, which is not a desirable outcome either.
Sainz, who prides himself on going up against any driver on the grid, will hope to switch things around at the 2023 Miami GP.
#3 Nyck de Vries
The less said about Nyck de Vries the better because of the kind of hype he came into the sport with, as he has been an utter disappointment.
He was expected to be a future Red Bull driver, but it does not appear that it's going to happen. He was expected to challenge and get the better of Yuki Tsunoda, but that has not happened yet.
Moreover, De Vries was expected to just be a solid driver who deserved a seat in F1. Looking at his first four races, it's difficult to make a case for him. The Dutch driver has been ruthlessly dominated by his teammate and has seen Tsunoda score points twice already.
Coming off arguably the worst weekend of his career in Baku, the 2023 Miami GP is another race where De Vries will look to put the pieces together. The Dutchman will hope to put together a semblance of a competitive performance this weekend as the noose around his F1 career tightens with every failure.
