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?

 

[Kewee]

He gave a slight shift to the left which caught Massa out, considering he would have been expecting Perez to stay right which is the obvious line into the left-hander. Massa would have been able to late brake Perez had Perez stayed on line. Massa has the experience to judge the braking distance for a straight forward overtake. Of course Massa appeared to be carrying too much speed, he was airborne and had no way of slowing even slightly.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

I still think Massa was more to blame

 

[no-FIAt-please]

Perez is still quite close to Vettel so moves left a bit, Massa still has tons of room and doesn't need to be that close to Perez. Not to mention Massa knows Perez has brake issues and should be wary for something like this.

Very harsh on Perez.

 

[Bill Boddy]

I wonder what Raikkonen's view is?

 

[Mephistopheles]

He reckons Perez needs a punch in the face...

 

[Mephistopheles]

Some say,,,, Perez can do no wrong,,, others say that, that's bollocks,,,, all I know is,,,, he caused an avoidable collision in Canada...

 

[KekeTheKing]

I find it inconceivable that the Canadian stewards handed down a 5 place grid penalty to a driver they never even spoke to. I expect this penalty to be rescinded.

 

[KekeTheKing]

Surprised to read the comments that F1 veteran Jo Ramirez had about Perez

On his stay at McLaren;

"Sergio was just not good enough as a person. He didn't really cooperate with the team, he was too cocky. His attitude was very bad," he claimed.

"It's such a shame," Ramirez continued. "I was at the Jerez test this year and spent time with McLaren and Sauber, and no one was able to say something good about Sergio.

"They all say that he needs to change his attitude if he wants to stay in formula one."

I know the McLaren was a dog last year, but when you blow your first big (maybe only) chance at a top team because of your pissy attitude, that may be a problem.

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ramirez-slams-perez-for-wrong-attitude/

edit - added link

 

[RasputinLives]

Thats interesting KekeTheKing and might go some way to explain why Sauber didn't approach him to come back when their sponsorship deal states they have to run a Mexican driver and Perez was clearly a better option than Guttierrez.

It is just one man's opinion but a very interesting one.

 

[The Pits]

Gosh, this article surprises me:

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3213/9384638/Perez-in-favour-of-stewards-leniency

 

[Jen]

The sign of a maturing driver perhaps?

 

[KekeTheKing]

So it turns out Checo Perez was the biggest beneficiary from the Double Points Finish.

He ended up 10th in the Final Table on 59 points thanks to the 12 from UAE. He jumped both Raikkonen and Magnussen who ended on 55 a piece.

Without the double-dip it would have been Magnussen 55, Raikkonen 54, and Perez 53.

 

[Olivier]

Has it been mentioned that he's secure a drive for 2015?

 

[Bill Boddy]

Interestingly after a poor start he finished up from Canada scoring as many points as a certain other driver who is looked on very favourably.

 

[RasputinLives]

Been reading through old driver threads today and can't help but notice how starry eyed and optimistic we all were about Perez in the early days?

Wherd do we stand on him now? Potential talent, steady midfield man or dangerous driver?

 

[Il_leone]

steady midfield man but has the odd tendency to tangle if your name is Maldonado

A poorer version of Button in my opinion because he can be fast when he nails it right and seems the best at managing his tyres. He's beating Hulkenberg at the moment but that's down to Nico having some really bad luck no fault of his own

 

[teabagyokel]

Potential talent, steady midfield man or dangerous driver?

Depends on which week it is, really. Therein lies the problem.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

Oh, he's going to be confirmed at Force India again for 2016 I believe. Announcement due in next few days supposedly. I'll look stupid if it's not.

 

[Il_leone]

How Sergio Perez’s 2016 Formula 1 plans could impact Mercedes


As Perez is going to stay at FI looks like its screwed up Mercedes and especially Werhlein because they would not budge on the engine price and FI did not want to lose the sponsorship that Perez brings

 

[no-FIAt-please]

9 points ahead of Hulkenberg now... not bad for a McLaren reject.

Is the Hulk just having a few unlucky races or has Checo stepped up his game? I think both.