Top 3 drivers desperate for a strong F1 Canadian GP 2022
When the F1 circus reaches the 2022 Canadian GP this weekend, there will be multiple drivers anxious and desperate to get a good one in. This season we've raced in the Middle East, the United States, Australia, and of course parts of Europe. All in all, the first eight races have been a bit of a rollercoaster for the drivers and some of them have seemingly hit a rough patch in the last few races.
Heading into the Canadian GP, we take a look at some of the drivers on the grid who are desperate to get the season back on track at Montréal.
3 drivers aiming for a strong 2022 F1 Canadian GP
#3 Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton's 2022 F1 season has been a bit of a distraction. It has had far too much drama in only 8 races. It started with a poorly executed jewelry ban, together with a rather underperforming car, and then finally to make things worse, luck has not been the Mercedes driver's best friend.
The 2022 F1 season's lasting sight has been the Briton distraught one race after another due to poor results or, most recently, a heavily jacked-up back with all the bouncing effects of the car.
In all of this, the numbers paint a poor picture of the seven-time world champion's season so far. The first is the points scored by both the Mercedes drivers. George Russell has 99 points to his name, while Hamilton has 62 points. Next, and perhaps the more damning stat, is the 7-race losing streak that the veteran is on against his teammate Russell.
here's the photo btw https://t.co/PPECtdgHNu
At the Canadian GP, for once, Lewis Hamilton needs to remove all the clutter around him from the jewelry ban, bouncing cars, or any other distraction, and try to beat George Russell. The latter is on a 7-race win streak over Hamilton, the joint-worst losing streak since Nico Rosberg.
Another loss in one of his favorite races against a young challenger when he's close to the end of his career is going to be damning for the Mercedes driver.
#2 Mick Schumacher
On to the next one #MSC47 https://t.co/K0Dgz6k7g9
As much as Guenther Steiner wanted to deny it to the media, Mick Schumacher and the Haas management definitely had some conversations following his Monaco crash. The result: a driver who turned up in Baku as a shadow of himself on the track.
In the last few races, Schumacher has shown the capability of being there or thereabouts with teammate Kevin Magnussen on the timesheets. In Baku, the German was over 6 tenths slower than his teammate in qualifying and while Magnussen looked destined to score points in Baku, Schumacher was struggling to even keep up with Alex Albon's Williams.
With the "Schumacher" name, not only does the German get a lot of attention, he gets a lot of responsibility as well. He's been able to put that to good use in the junior categories, winning both the F2 and F3 titles. In F1 though, this season has been a baptism by fire of sorts, and at the Canadian GP, the German will be desperate to put together a strong weekend and score some points.
The clock has started to tick for Schumacher at Haas and he needs to show that he belongs in the sport now.
#1 Charles Leclerc
It hurts again. But I’ll never give up. https://t.co/JvTjR09Lm9
Charles Leclerc has a plain and simple target for the Canadian GP: Win the race! The Ferrari driver has had a horrible run of luck in the last three races. While two of them have featured a DNF, the third featured his team committing a strategic disaster in Monaco and ruining any hopes of him winning his home race.
After the Australian GP, Leclerc was 46 points ahead of Max Verstappen. In just 5 races he has conceded 80 points to the reigning champion as he finds himself third in the championship and 34 points behind the Red Bull driver.
None of this is a result of the Monegasque's performances dropping off a cliff. Rather, it is a result of him paying the price for his team's shortcomings. At the Canadian GP, the equation is simple, though, and for Leclerc, he needs to get the momentum back and win the race.