The five F1 drivers under the most pressure heading into 2024

Sergio Perez
Unsurprisingly, the first driver under the most pressure heading into F1 2024 is 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Sergio Perez.
While the Mexican did secure his best-ever championship finish in 2023 - runner-up behind 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Max Verstappen - it was arguably Perez’s worst season in F1.
It is important to acknowledge that while Perez does have a generational talent as his teammate, Perez ꦜisn’t doing himself any favours.
Perez’s form in the mid part of F1 2023 was beyond acce𝐆ptable for a someone driving the most 𒈔dominant car in the history of the sport.

Between Monaco and Brazil, Perez finished on the podium just four times - 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Lando Norris for McLaren scored�💮� six top three finishes, as a comparison.
The good news for Perez is that there’s no obviou💖s repla🧸cement.
168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Daniel Ricciardo still needs to show he’s at the level required to take on Verstappen - so far alongside 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Yuki Tsunoda, he hasn’t been able to do so.
Norris 🍬is unlikely to leave a resurgent McLaren - plus is he going to want to go up against ꦕhis best friend at this stage of his career?
Team boss Christian Horner says Perez’s future iꦦs in his own hands - and he’s right.
Logan Sargeant
For 2024, 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Logan Sargeant was the 20th and final driver to be confirmed as 🥃a driver for the upcoming season.
Sargeant’s rookie season was underwhelming as he was whitewashed by teammate168澳洲5最新开奖结果: Alex Albon in qualifying.
Given the lack of alternatives for Williams to choos🎃e from, Sargeant being retai🌃ned was ultimately inevitable.

With Williams seemingly on the rise in terms of pace, the team cannot af🍒ford to have another seaso♓n where Sargeant struggles to score points.
If AlphaTauri had Riccia🍒rdo-Tsunoda as their line-🅺up for the entirety of 2023, it’s probable Williams would have finished behind them.
With a second💜 year of experience under his belt, Sargeant should be better for it.
Zhou Guanyu
Even though Theo Pourchaire won the 2023 FIA Formula 2 title, 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Zhou Guanyu was kept on alongside168澳洲5最新开奖结果: Valtteri Bottas.
Zhou’s lack of performance went under the radar ♈in the latter part of the year, out-qualifying Bottas just once after the summ🅰er break.
The Chinese driver seems to fare better 🤡in the race, and to his credit, rarely makes major mi💎stakes.
However, his ceiling doesn’t seem to be high enough to warrant a fourth season on the F1 gr🍨id should he not get the better of Bottas ♐more often.
Sauber have already called on Zhou to be “more consistent”🎶 in 2024.

“In some conditions, it's been a sꦦtruggle a bit more and we're trying to understand what we can give him with the car and how we can work with the tyres, just to make sure he's more consistꦚent," commented Sauber head of trackside engineering Xevi Pujolar.
ღ“In some conditions, he is a bit more sensitive ♏to what he is feeling. The differences are not big but in terms of positions they are big, so we need to work on that for next year.
“There is no room for any small drop or mistake.”
A cynic may argue that Zhou was only reta🌌ined be❀cause of the return of the Chinese Grand Prix in April.
Unfair, perhaps, but he has to improveꦜ ahead of 2025.
Kevin Magnussen
While Haas did finish bottom of the constructors’ championship, 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Kevin Magnussen endured a poor year in 2023.
Magnuss𝕴en was consistently the slꦜower of the two Haas drivers, particularly over one lap.
The Dane openly admitted the VF-23 did not suit his driving style, explaining the substantial deficit to 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Nico Hulkenberg.

Magnussen is a proven driver, and on his day, is capable of some standout drives, Miami 2023 for ꦜexample.
But with Oliver Bearman potentially waiting in the wings - the 18-year-old Brit is part of Ferrari’s driver academy - a change for 2025 is a no📖-brainer for Haas if he can secure the F2 title.
Daniel Ricciardo
The whole point of Ricciardo’s F1 comeback is to ℱ🃏return to Red Bull - that’s why he’s under immense pressure in 2024.
Ri꧂cciardo’s sole ambition is to return💞 to race-winning machinery and end his F1 career driving for a top team.
2024 will ultimately define that.

It’s hard to read what level Ricciardo is at given that his comeback was disrupted by his wrist 𝓀injury.
When he did come back, aside from Mexic﷽o, he and Tsu🥀noda were evenly-matched.
The amount of pressure Perez is under will be determined by h🔥is own performances but also how well Ricciardo is faring at AlphaTauri.
There’s an open🐬 goal for Ricciardo - let’s se﷽e if he can take it.

With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, C🍌onnor is the he෴artbeat of our unbiased reporting.