Current Sergio Pérez

Sergio Perez Mendoza also known as 'Checo'. 21 years of age and 12 Grand Prix under his belt. Already has a contract for Sauber for next year, is part of the Ferrari driving acadamy, current favourite to replace Massa but what he didn't have was his own thread on Clip the Apex so I thought I'd sort him one out.

Won British Formula 3 at 18. Finished 12 in GP2 at 19. Finished runner-up in GP2 at 20. Made his GP debut at 21 and finished in the points only to be DQ'd later due to both Saubers breaking car regs. Had a big accident at Monoco and even chose to pull out of the Candian GP after realising he wasn't back to 100%. Has had 2 points finishes so far this season with his highest being a 7th place at Silverstone. Has been quite highly placed at both Spa and Monza in last couple of weeks but due to a tangle and a mechnical faiure didn't capitalise on it.

Has been beating his Team-mate Kobyashi reg in qualifying but has had difficulty translating that to the races. Sometimes you wonder if Perez suffers from Sauber tendency to try and make him do something different on the tyre strategy and whether he'd much rather just go for it and race with the pack. Having said that he has proved he has a head for strategy which could stand him in goodstead for the future.

Already impressed enough to get a second year with Sauber and is currently dueling with Paul Di Resta for the 'Rookie of the Year' award. What do you guys think of him? Star of the future or constant midfield runner?

 

[Il_leone]

Perhaps then that's why there is now a late rush to sign better drivers on the market unless Mclaren can think screwing Telmex is not going to be a problem whoever they sign

 

[Mephistopheles]

It depends on who's screwing who if Telmex are not fulfilling there financial agreement then it is McLaren who are getting screwed...

 

[teabagyokel]

Unless Telmex have changed strategy; look at the exposure Singapore/Monaco manage to get with no drivers, for example.

 

[Il_leone]

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/1...-joining-mclaren-have-been-below-expectations

 

[Hamberg]

Read between the lines and the team are the ones I think young Sergio truly believes need to get their act together.

 

[RasputinLives]

Mclaren do indeed need to improve but when your team mate has three times the points you do I don't think you have a leg to stand on suggesting its all down to the car.

 

[Hamberg]

Quite RasputinLives he is suggesting it's also down to the team is he not?

 

[Mephistopheles]

Hamberg are you suggesting that Perez is blaming the team for his performance or is this another conspiracy theory suggesting that the team are backing Button and sabotaging Perez?

 

[Hamberg]

The former

 

[Mephistopheles]

Maybe he should look closer to home...

 

[Mephistopheles]

Before people start jumping all over the place and say I'm trying to wind up people with my Lewis remark I would like to say that I believe, because all the evidence points to this fact that Lewis could indeed do a better job than Button with the current McLaren, in qualifying but not in the race where they would be pretty evenly matched with Jenson being slightly ahead due to his temperament.....

 

[RasputinLives]

Perez has been pretty average this season. Other than Bahrain I can't remember too many exciting moments from him.

Of course with the Mclaren being so poor its hard to tell whether he's been average this year or Button has been on top form or a bit of both.

Personally I think Button has quietly been putting in some good performances getting the car further up than it should be. Whilst I wouldn't have expected Sergio to match him in year one but I would have expected a couple of stand out performances by now.

 

[Bill Boddy]

Raikkonen got excited about one of the Perez moves in Monaco.

 

[Slyboogy]

In fairness to Perez, he has been quite close to Button in several races, and they are not big victories by Button either, you usually find them close together on track.

 

[MCLS]

It smacks of Kovalainen all over again to be honest with Perez, good driver who with a good car can get regular points and get on the podium a few times, but he's not quite cut out for a top drive

 

[RasputinLives]

Singapore is the closest Perez has finished to Button since Canada and he's only beat him twice (retirements don't count) all season at Canada and Bahrain.

Its the races like China and Belgium which blot his copy box as Jenson scores big chunks of points and he struggles to get in the top 10. Would have happened at Malaysia too. It is begining to be noticable.

 

[Il_leone]

You can forgive someone for struggling to settling into the new team at the beginning of the season but by mid season he should be up to speed - matching and beating his teammate more often than note

Spa and Monza are tend to two circuits which show the men from the boys . Button came out top in both.

- the car is not very good obviously but is not any different to your teammate so you must beat him at least to make a point
and its fair to say Sergio has not stepped up

I know its a bit different back then but obviously Mclaren will compare him to what Kimi Raikkonen did in the first season at Mclaren to gage this potential

 

[Il_leone]

Mclaren must realise they have not got a real strong driver line up now

 

[The Pits]

which invites the question, just how good was last years Sauber?

 

[Road of Bones]

Indeed - and also prompts the thought that, given how apparently tragic this year's Sauber is, just how good has Nico Hulkenberg been this season?

I really hope McLaren decide to go Button/Hulkenberg next year...