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The F1 circus heads to Albert Park for the 2023 Australian GP. The season has not started on the most optimistic note. with Red Bull dominating the field with their relentless speed and performance.
Possible competitors like Ferrari and Mercedes have been utterly disappointing in terms of producing competitive packages. Both teams have been found wanting in more ways than one. Having said that, the F1 bandwagon continues to jump from one town to another as the unrelenting calendar takes a four-week break after the race in Australia.
Heading to the 2023 Australian GP, the third race of the season comes at a critical point. Sometimes all that's needed is just one race to set the tone for the year. Also, the race before a four-week break means that the result is going to stick with the drivers for the longest time.
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They can't shrug this off with a result in a race a week or two later. For a few drivers, that's critical. They need to set the tone for the big break that's coming up by producing the best possible result. These drivers will be desperate for a strong result this weekend. Who are they? Well, let's take a look.
#1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes F1)
Hamilton is in a precarious situation this season. There's a realization that he might need to commit to a long-term project if the aim is to win his eighth title.
There's also a realization that he can do this well even in his 40s as shown by Fernando Alonso. Having said that, there's this realization as well that while Hamilton is a top draw on the F1 grid, every top team appears to have a talent signed up.
Ferrari have Leclerc; McLaren have Norris; Aston Martin have Alonso, and Mercedes will have George Russell if Hamilton departs. It's not only his star power but his performance as well that could be under the microscope as he makes his next move. That's where the dynamics at Mercedes come into the picture. Russell is 2-0 in qualifying and 1-1 in races this season.
At worst, he has shown that he can hang with Hamilton and get the better of his illustrious teammate too. For the older Briton, the upcoming four-week break will be one where he sits back and determines what could be the next move in his career.
If he's losing out to George Russell once again, that could make things a bit uncomfortable for the F1 legend.
#2 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Having an injury and staying just within striking range of his illustrious teammate Fernando Alonso is a decent effort. However, if that becomes a pattern, Strol will start getting overshadowed by the unmistakable charisma of Alonso.
This charisma has left many a career in ruins. Just ask excellent drivers like Romain Grosjean, Felipe Massa and Stoffel Vandoorne. Poor Stoffel was even unable to recover from the damage caused by being Alonso's teammate.
Aston Martin are a team owned by Lance Stroll's father. However, if Alonso leaves no doubts in the mind of the team that the two drivers are just too many levels apart, Stroll could become an outsider in his own team.
After two decent outings, Stroll might be keeping an eye on getting the better of his teammate at the Australian GP.
#3 Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
For Sergio Perez, the race in Australia has to be the most important one of his career.
He's only one point behind Verstappen in the championship, and there have been far too many suggestions that the Mexican could take the challenge to his teammate this season.
These suggestions were first made last season after Monaco, a race where Perez was arguably the better Red Bull driver and won the race. However, what happened in the next race set the record straight. Verstappen dominated Perez at Baku and won by a gap of around 20 seconds. After that point, there was no looking back, as there was no rivalry left. The Dutchman went on to dominate, and Perez could not capture that goldust to challenge Verstappen for the title.
In Australia, we're back in the same situation. Verstappen was not happy at losing out on the win in Jeddah. He would have been a bit surprised that Perez was able to keep the lead despite facing a sustained challenge.
If Perez has to be a player in the 2023 title fight, he has to beat his teammate this weekend. Looking at the speed of the two Red Bulls, it will comes down to this: can Perez beat Verstappen in a straight fight? If he can do it at Albert Park, he's going to make things very interesting this season, especially with a four-week gap coming up.
