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In F1, more often than not, there is a certain set of expectations for a particular driver. These expectations tend to get built over time as the driver continues to perform or shows weakness against the competition.
At the start of an F1 season, a driver is more often than not expected to perform in a certain manner depending on where his stock is in the eyes of the fans and the pundits.
Sometimes drivers tend to shine and raise their stocks while on other occasions they are unable to match the expectations and their stock falls.
In this feature, we'll take a look at three drivers whose stock fell in the 2023 F1 season.
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#1 Alex Albon (Williams F1)
When the 2020 F1 season ended and Alex Albon was replaced by Sergio Perez, not many would have thought that the former Red Bull driver would be looked at the way he is right now after two seasons with Williams.
Albon, who left the sport, was frustrated. He was spent and unsure of himself and what he could achieve in F1. He made a return to the sport with Williams in 2022 and he's never looked back. After dominating Nicholas Latifi last season and doing the same to Logan Sargeant this year, Albon is looked at as the lead driver of the team now.
What has followed is rumors of multiple teams including Ferrari and Red Bull showing interest in hiring Albon and giving him that much-deserved promotion.
There aren't many that would put Albon outside of the top 10 drivers in F1 right now and it is a much-deserved spot for him.
#2 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Pierre Gasly entering Alpine was always going to be contentious and everyone was going to keep a close eye on how he fared against his former for Esteban Ocon.
Well, by the looks of it, Gasly fares quite well. The 2023 F1 season ended with Pierre having outscored his teammate and in terms of having standout results he had a podium in the sprint as well as in a race compared to a singular race podium for his teammate.
On the face of it, it's slightly hard to bet on either of the two drivers having an edge over the other such is the proximity of the two, and Esteban Ocon's shocking streak of DNFs surely played a role in Gasly getting a jump on him, having said that, there's certainly a conversation to be had when it comes to the fact that this was Gasly's first season with the team.
Ocon had been part of the structure for far too long and even then he wasn't able to be consistently faster than his teammate is what makes Gasly's season even better.
The 2024 F1 season is going to be interesting but for now, it does appear that the advantage lies in Gasly's corner more than his teammate's.
#3 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Oscar Piastri is a driver who impressed everyone in his junior career without a doubt. He was however up against it when it comes to having Lando Norris as his teammate in his rookie season.
On the face of it, everyone would have expected Piastri to do a decent job and just cement his place in his first season. Well, Piastri did more than that as he not only impressed everyone, he also showed why Zak Brown was so interested in signing him.
There were a few weekends where Piastri got the better of his teammate Lando Norris as well and that is something he would be looking to do a lot more of in 2024.
For the 2023 season, however, Piastri has exceeded expectations and certainly turned a few heads as well.
