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The Spanish GP is a bit of a reset for everyone on the F1 grid. The teams are bringing in some massive upgrades for the cars this weekend. Before arriving in Barcelona, the F1 circus moved across the globe to the Middle East, Australia, and the US. Only now has it got a chance to settle down a bit and race on the rather conventional F1 tracks in Europe.
The Spanish GP will feature the first of a series of many conventional tracks that F1 will race on. Not only that, the track also allows drivers to press the reset button to kickstart their seasons. Quite a few drivers have had a rather underwhelming start to the season and will be looking to make amends in Barcelona. In this piece, we will take a look at a few drivers that would be desperate for a good result at the Spanish GP.
3 F1 drivers desperate for a strong Spanish GP
#1 Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton would not have envisioned the 2022 F1 season to pan out this way. He's pretty much not in contention for the title. The Mercedes is just not in the same league as the frontrunners. To make things worse, Hamilton is currently up against a teammate in George Russell who is taking the challenge to him.
Russell has beaten the seven-time world champion in four consecutive races and has a healthy 23-point lead as well. The Spanish GP provides Hamilton with the perfect opportunity to get things back on track. He knows the track, he won here last season, and he should hold an advantage over Russell in a head-to-head battle. The 37-year-old will be keen on shutting down the haters and beating his teammate this weekend.
#2 Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz would not have expected Charles Leclerc to level up the way he has this season. It's not hard to imagine that the Spaniard would be a tad slower than Leclerc, but no one would have expected the latter to have a clean sweep over Sainz in every aspect this season.
Sainz himself has somewhat succumbed to the pressure of trying to outperform his teammate, leading to multiple shunts. The podium in Miami was the 27-year-old's first step to getting back into the groove this season. In his home race, the Spaniard will be looking to stamp his authority and maybe start making strides in the championship as well.
#3 Mick Schumacher
There were positives as well as negatives in Mick Schumacher's Miami GP. The positive was his speed as he was pretty much the faster Haas driver throughout the weekend. What was also commendable was his drive through the field as the German was able to make his way into the points-paying position from 15th on the grid.
The biggest negative, however, was his clash with Sebastian Vettel, which exposed one key aspect of Schumacher's game. His slight immaturity in race conditions, where he perhaps showed the rookie mentality of going for broke when he could have tried to cement a points finish, was painfully apparent.
At the Spanish GP, the 23-year-old will be looking to repeat the form he displayed at the Miami GP, but this time around will be aiming to keep the mistakes at bay as well.
