3 F1 drivers who could have achieved much more

F1 is a ruthless sport, and for one to succeed they need to have an unrelenting work ethic to make the most of their gifts. Many drivers ooze talent at first, but over time are unable to live up to expectations.

There can be many reasons for this - mental block, lack of discipline or just plain lack of application. These drivers are unable to realize their true potential and only show glimpses of their talent once in a while.

Here are 3 drivers in recent times who could have achieved so much more.

#3 Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean is one of the fastest drivers not to have won a race. Although the Frenchman came close multiple times in 2013, he was always found to be lacking that extra bit to land the top step of the podium.

Grosjean was one of the most talented drivers in F1. He always had pace, but suffered due to inconsistency. In Nico Rosberg's podcast, Grosjean also talked about how he had to keep his mental health in check throughout his career.

The French driver did put together some great drives at Lotus, scoring 10 career podiums. Ending his F1 career as a Haas driver at the back of the grid, however, was just not what one expected of Grosjean when he made his F1 debut.

As a driver with so much natural talent, it was disappointing to see Grosjean never put it all together and reach the heights he was capable of achieving.

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#2 Juan Pablo Montoya

Juan Pablo Montoya was a free-spirited soul who could destroy a grid if in the mood. During his maiden F1 season in 2001, he pulled off a stunning move down the inside of Michael Schumacher at the Brazilian Grand Prix. During his tenure at Williams, he was able to put together some fantastic drives and was always amongst the best drivers on the grid.

However, in 2003, his championship challenge fell away for want of consistency. Then, in 2005 at McLaren, he was comprehensively outperformed by his teammate Kimi Raikkonen (60 points compared to the Finn's 112).

Montoya, during his Williams years, showed that he could beat any driver on the grid. At McLaren, however, it slowly became evident that he lacked the adaptability and application one needs to realize one's potential.

Montoya had the potential to become another Michael Schumacher, but finished with only 7 race wins in his career.

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#1 Kimi Raikkonen

From the moment he stepped onto the grid, everyone realized Kimi Raikkonen was a special talent. In 2007, he won his first title with Ferrari, but instead of getting better his performances began to dip in subsequent years.

Raikkonen was just not the same driver after his championship win and he would transform from being an exceptionally quick driver to a reliable one who would deliver points every time but lacked those final couple of tenths or more that would have made him an elite driver.

It's no surprise that Raikkonen scored 15 of his 21 career wins by 2007. By the time the Finn retired in 2021, he was a pale shadow of his original self and was just making up numbers at Alfa Romeo. In retrospect, it does appear that after he won the championship, there was a change in Raikkonen's mindset and he just was not as motivated after having achieved his dream of becoming an F1 champion.

Having said that, Raikkonen, between 2002 and 2007, was one of the elites of the sport, and had he carried on in a similar vein could have achieved so much more.