For the 20 individuals fortunate enough to label themselves full-time Formula 1 drivers, continuously being placed under the most intense pressure elite-level sport can offer is something they routinely have to deal with and become accustomed to.
However, while some thrive in such conditions, others can crumble under the scrutiny of knowing what lies ahead if they fail to maximise the machinery at their disposal and produce the necessary results for their respective employers.
Although the landscape of the modern-day driver market has meant many will head into the 2023 season appearing to be in a relatively secure contractual position, that situation can easily evolve and previous accolades can swiftly become forgotten if current performances take a turn for the worst.
But which drivers will go into the latest F1 campaign with a point to prove and the biggest burden above all to hit the ground running?
Yuki Tsunoda
One such driver who will definitely require substantial improvement if they are to secure an extension to their deal beyond the current season is AlphaTauri’s Tsunoda.
After flying through the junior ranks, the step up to the top tier provided a rude awakening for the Japanese talent in his debut F1 campaign as he was comprehensively outclassed by Pierre Gasly in every respect.
While the two would grow close away from the circuit, on the racetrack there was a stratospheric difference between what Gasly and Tsunoda produced in moderately competitive machinery. Despite Tsunoda closing the gap in their second year together, Gasly still had the overall edge in both qualifying and race trim last year.
However, courtesy of the Frenchman’s departure to Alpine, there is now a team leader berth needing to be filled down at AlphaTauri. Tsunoda remains at the Faenza outfit for a third successive year and will have the opportunity to take on that mantle, but there can be expansive doubts over the 22-year-old’s capabilities to be the one to step up.
Going up against a new team-mate in the form of Nyck De Vries for 2023, Tsunoda will need to deliver an emphatic defeat on his newest rival to remove all doubts surrounding him retaining his drive for 2024, let alone any future aspirations concerning a Red Bull promotion.
Sergio Perez
Moving onto the more established entry within the Red Bull stable, Perez is another driver who enters the 2023 season with a degree of pressure on his shoulders.
Although he secured himself a multi-year extension to his deal early last year and rounded out the year by stringing together his most successful season in F1 to date with a third-place finish in the Drivers’ standings, Perez’s place is by no means what you would regard as secure.
Not many drivers would stack up comparatively well against Max Verstappen in equal machinery and Red Bull doesn’t necessarily need somebody on the two-time champion’s level. However, the team will be hoping to see Perez reduce the half-a-second average deficit that has existed between them during their two seasons together.
Ultimately, such was the close nature of Verstappen’s title duel with Lewis Hamilton, the Mexican’s performance against Valtteri Bottas, then of Mercedes, cost Red Bull the Constructors’ crown in 2021, and his team-mate’s supreme domination of the 2022 campaign meant Perez’s results had a very little underlying bearing on the achievements of the team.
If Mercedes were to develop into a constant threat again and Ferrari build upon their premature challenge of last year, Perez would need to reduce the anonymous showings he can often be guilty of to avoid the possibility of Red Bull looking elsewhere for a younger, faster alternative alongside Verstappen.
Pierre Gasly
For a long time, Gasly retained hopes his impressive showings in the midfield would yield a return to the Red Bull outfit he was axed from midway through 2019.
While Perez’s renewal through to 2024 closed that option off entirely, Gasly’s insistence to still advance his career beyond the Red Bull group witnessed Alpine make the one-time race winner their chosen man to replace the departing figure of two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso.
Since his demotion back to Red Bull’s sister team, Gasly shone and was rightfully earmarked as one of the better performers of the last few years.
The Frenchman rebounded from his Red Bull snub by scooping his maiden podium within seven races of his return to the Italian squad, going on to score two more thereafter, including that famous win at the Italian Grand Prix in 2020.
Having enhanced his reputation by beating the likes of Brendon Hartley, an out-of-sorts Daniil Kvyat and an inexperienced Tsunoda, Ocon will represent the toughest test of Gasly’s F1 career since Verstappen.
Ocon will unquestionably be a worthy competitor to go up against after matching Alonso stride-for-stride across two seasons. Therefore, Gasly will certainly have his work cut out to beat his fellow countryman and prove the thrashing he received at Red Bull was merely a blip rather than a running theme that stages him as a driver who fundamentally struggles to adapt.
Oscar Piastri
It’s understandable an individual possessing the junior formula record Piastri had has garnered much anticipation for his F1 debut, but he arguably enters as the rookie with the most pressure to perform since Verstappen debuted somewhat controversially at the age of 17.
Although Piastri may be vastly older than the current World Champion was when he entered back in 2015, the Australian’s performances will arguably be as heavily scrutinised stemming from the debacle that surrounded his controversial switch to McLaren.
Leaving behind a certified Alpine seat alongside Ocon to go into an environment that revolves around Lando Norris represents a bold choice of the highest order – one that could foresee his F1 career end before it has really even got underway.
While the expectation is that Norris will comfortably have the upper hand over the newcomer, receiving a thrashing on the same level as his fellow Australian, Daniel Ricciardo, could be something Piastri fails to recover from and is a scenario he must desperately avoid.
Senior McLaren personnel have already warned there will be an element of rustiness for Piastri to shake off in the early stages of the season. But, in the high-pressure world of F1, that’s an excuse that will rapidly wear thin, especially if he struggles extensively early on.
Zhou Guanyu
Unlike Piastri, who will approach his rookie season with Logan Sargeant in the same boat, Zhou encountered unchartered territory last year as the only new driver in the F1 ranks.
While many would perhaps be overwhelmed by such a daunting proposition, Zhou took it in his stride by scoring a point on his debut, and that would be the catalyst for China’s first-ever full-time F1 driver producing a respectable introductory campaign, showcasing enough glimpses to at least warrant a second season at the top table.
Having started the season a long way behind his vastly more experienced team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou gradually closed the deficit to the Finn as the year unfolded and only lost out in the head-to-head by a respectable 14-8 scoreline in race trim.
Unfortunately for Zhou, he was only able to muster a pitiful eight points during a year in which Bottas achieved 49 points in the sister car. Although that can partially be attributed to contrasting fortunes when the car was at its most competitive, Alfa Romeo’s decision to only extend Zhou’s contract by a singular year underlines his status as a relatively unknown prospect.
That contractual situation places Zhou in a precarious position heading into 2023, particularly with Sauber junior, Theo Pourchaire, waiting in the wings for his opportunity.
