Perez to Mclaren- thoughts

[AlpineF1]

To be honest i thought Diresta would have his spot and Perez would be at Ferrari but wow!! i did not expect that, so excited for 2013 now

[JayeOFarrell]

My thoughts exactly

[Scorpaguy]

The sound you are now hearing is Massa breathing a huge sigh of relief.

[JimClarkFan]

Partial re-post of mine from a previous thread....

Perez over DiResta and Hulkenburg? Don't get me wrong, he is a good driver, but his two second positions this year have both come not from great driving but lucky positioning in Malaysia, and a miraculous turn of speed in Monzo.

Perez is over hyped in my view in light of the peculiar tyres on offer this year. Correct me if I am wrong, but in each case where he has ended up on the podium it has been the result not of undisputed great driving but rather starting below 10th and having a different strategy to others. This strategy of going longer compared to just about everyone else because of his easy use of tyres may not work when he has a car capable of qualifying in the top 10; if he were to qualify in 3rd or 4th, his hand would be forced in terms on strategy.

He doesn't, to my mind, have the pedegree of either force India driver as proofed by his racing history. I personally am gutted because I wanted Hulkenburg to get that spot but I guess consistent hard work with a proven track record of winning in just about everything you turn your hand to doesn't mean anything anymore.

Heck I would even have Maldonardo as a preferred alternative to Perez because we know he has out and out pace. Perez is too close to Button in his abilities. And as other have said its easier to change driver temperament and improve racing strategy than it is to increase a drivers speed.

Comparisons of respective history:
Hulkenburg - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nico_H%C3%BClkenberg
DiResta - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_di_Resta
Maldonardo - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastor_Maldonado
Perez - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_P%C3%A9rez

[Absolutelee]

I really like Perez and Mclaren so I'm quite happy right now. I got in trouble for shouting when I woke up this morning and read the news. The biggest negative for me is, as you said, Perez's strengths are quite similar to Button's so all of their eggs are now in one basket. But then I thought, well maybe that means Mclaren can build a really specific car that works great for both of their drivers, rather than needing a car that can perform with 2 quite different driving styles. We'll see I guess

[JimClarkFan]

I really like Perez and Mclaren so I'm quite happy right now. I got in trouble for shouting when I woke up this morning and read the news. The biggest negative for me is, as you said, Perez's strengths are quite similar to Button's so all of their eggs are now in one basket. But then I thought, well maybe that means Mclaren can build a really specific car that works great for both of their drivers, rather than needing a car that can perform with 2 quite different driving styles. We'll see I guess

hhhmmm I suppose you could have a point with car development they probably will be pushed in the same direction. However, Buttons car requirements of a really well balanced pretty much suits all drivers.

I'm happy for Perez, he seems like a nice fella. But I just don't understand why a driver like Hulkenburg can't seem to get a break. I say this knowing that other people may object, but I think the guy has something special, a speed up there with Hamilton and he seems to be a good racer as well.

[Absolutelee]

Hulkenburg does seem to have terrible luck career-wise. I mean, c'mon he puts his Williams on pole in his rookie year and gets ousted??

Anyway, back to Perez, I agree that he seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Drives smart. And it doesn't hurt that he called out Maldonado on air. I say good for Perez!

I also think that if Button is willing to play the role of wise old head and work closely with Perez, Perez could learn a lot from someone who drives so similarly but has a lot of experience. We could see Perez develop rather quickly

[raymondu999]

To be honest i thought Diresta would have his spot and Perez would be at Ferrari but wow!! i did not expect that, so excited for 2013 now

To be honest I never thought Di Resta was any sort of serious threat for the seat. Not because of the driver himself, but because his and JB's managers are one and the same - Richard Goddard. There's no way Ron Dennis would let one guy hold his entire driver lineup by the balls like that.

[Red Schneider]

There's no way Ron Dennis would let one guy hold his entire driver lineup by the balls like that.

I may be missing something obvious, but why is this a problem?

[flynfrog]

There's no way Ron Dennis would let one guy hold his entire driver lineup by the balls like that.

I may be missing something obvious, but why is this a problem?

pretty easy to demand more when you hold both drivers cards

[shotzski]

Wth regards to Perez's Mclaren switch, will he still be able to bring with him his sponsors? What about Telmex? There was a rumour sometime ago that Vodafone would pull out Mclaren title sponsorship by 2013. Any thoughts?

[raymondu999]

Telmex is a Vodafone partner

[stefan_]

Telmex offers very big support to Perez and Guttierez, and I suppose Sergio brings some cash with him. I wouldn't be surprised to see bigger Telmex logos than Vodafone ones as this is an opportunity for Vodafone to reduce the amount they are paying and stay for a little bit longer with McLaren.

[timbo]

I wonder what happens to Sauber now. Telmex is their only major sponsor, no?

[raymondu999]

I wonder what happens to Sauber now. Telmex is their only major sponsor, no?

Depends what happens with Gutierrez I think.