3 F1 teams desperate for a strong Australian GP

The 2023 F1 Australian GP comes at a critical juncture this season. After the race, we have a four-week break before the next race in Baku. This makes the race at Albert Park all the more important as a strong result would mean that the winning teams will be heading to the break motivated and pumped for better results.

We've already had two races this season and for a few teams, the results have not been the best. These teams will be looking at the race in Australia as an opportunity to gain some momentum and get better results. These teams will be desperate for a strong result in the 2023 F1 Australian GP. Who are these teams? Let's take a look.

#1 Ferrari

Ferrari was roughly around two-tenths of a second slower than Red Bull in Bahrain over a lap and around six-tenths slower in race pace. The gap at Jeddah was supposed to decrease, with Ferrari showing a bigger advantage over the straights in Bahrain. This, however, did not happen as Ferrari was around six-tenths slower than Red Bull over a lap in Jeddah and more than a second slower in the race.

There are no clear answers that have come out of the Italian camp other than an admittance that the team is struggling for pace. This also pours cold water over any expectations that the Italian team had of possibly challenging Red Bull.

There is certainly a theory that the sudden drop in pace from Ferrari is expected to be due to the power unit issues faced by Charles Leclerc in Bahrain. The Italian team ran conservatively all weekend in Jeddah and arguably kept something in reserve on the last qualifying lap as well.

The 2023 F1 Australian GP is a crucial weekend for the team. After launching the car with a lot of fanfare, the last two races have left a lot to be desired. If the team is confident enough to run the engine at full beans, a better result could be in the offing.

The team will be desperate for a better result after the kind of negative press that has plagued the team unnecessarily. it remains to be seen if that can be accomplished though.

#2 McLaren F1

McLaren has been one of the major disappointments of the 2023 F1 season. The team has all of a sudden found itself in turmoil after the surprise departure of Andreas Seidl last season.

Since then, the team has admitted to everyone that it chose the wrong development direction for its car, something that set the team back more than a month.

Since then, the first two races have been a tale of two halves. Qualifying sessions have shown that the McLaren package has potential, a potential that can be exploited in races if everything goes according to plan.

Unfortunately, nothing has. Unforeseen issues with the car in Bahrain and the front wing damage in Jeddah have ruined both races. McLaren is at the bottom of the constructors' standings right now and for a team that dominated the sport at one point, this is just poor, to say the least.

#3 Mercedes

Mercedes had a comparatively better race in Jeddah as the team almost scored its first podium of the season. Unfortunately, that did not happen, but still, a P4 was a much better result for George Russell than what the team was able to muster in the first race. Having said that, the F1 race before a four-week break can be crucial for a team that wants to get back to the front as soon as possible.

This won't happen soon, but the team knows the importance of a good result and momentum before heading into a break like this. If somehow the team can muster a podium finish in Australia (something that George Russell was able to do last season) it will give the team the much-needed momentum to push hard in the summer break.

It will also give the team a certain level of leverage when it negotiates a contract extension with Lewis Hamilton. It's no secret that the talks between the two parties have stalled. Hamilton's F1 future is up in the air and the kind of machinery produced by Mercedes does not inspire much confidence either.

An F1 podium will go a long way in showing Lewis that a resurgence to the front is not that far out of reach for the team. If not on the podium, at the very least, the team will be looking to achieve a positive result this weekend to keep morale high.