It has been a busy day for F1 news, with the latest being that Sauber driver Sergio Perez will replace Lewis Hamilton at McLaren.
Hamilton is making the move to Mercedes for 2013, giving Perez a great opportunity to claim his first win. The Mexican will partner Jenson Button at the British outfit.
A few weeks back I commented on the rumours surrounding Perez moving to McLaren, stating that he has "huge potential". Now Perez can use that potential in a race winning team. The move is a big step for Sergio, who has spent the last 2 years in the relatively small and quiet Sauber team.
He has so far scored 3 podiums this year, with a second place in Malaysia, a third place in Canada and another second place ironically behind Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix.
The 22 year old had been linked to replacing Felipe Massa at Ferrari, and is part of their driver academy. However Ferrari boss Luca Di Montezemolo was quoted saying that Perez was too "inexperienced" for a drive with the famous prancing horse, meaning McLaren could snatch him from under Ferrari's nose.
Perez has spoken out about his switch to McLaren, saying "I'm thrilled and delighted to have become a McLaren driver, the McLaren name is one of the greatest in the history of F1. I'm truly honoured that they've chosen me."
He then added "For more than 40 years, McLaren have been a team every racing driver has aspired to drive for. I was brought up on the great stories of Ayrton Senna's many world championship triumphs for McLaren. I've spent the 2012 season working very hard to demonstrate my potential, but I've always remained humble and focused. I'm under no illusion that it is indeed a very big step - as it would be for any driver - but I'm ready for it."
Some see the move as a mistake because of his inexperience, but despite their legendary status McLaren have hired rookies in the past and Perez certainly drives like more experience than he does in reality.
Martin Whitmarsh commented on the signing, saying "It was a string of giant-killing performances that showed us that Sergio lacks nothing in terms of speed and commitment, he's perfectly poised to develop into a world championship challenger. His addition to the McLaren team provides us with the perfect two-pronged driver line-up for the new season."
The recent boom in driver changes means there is now a current vacancy at Sauber. Peter Sauber revealed he would sign Schumacher, who is now without a drive, if he became available and was willing to make the step down. It also leaves the Swiss team with options like Hekki Kovalainen and Pirelli tester Jaime Alguersuari, as well as GP2 driver and reserve for Sauber Esteban Gutierrez.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
A few weeks back I commented on the rumours surrounding Perez moving to McLaren, stating that he has "huge potential". Now Perez can use that potential in a race winning team. The move is a big step for Sergio, who has spent the last 2 years in the relatively small and quiet Sauber team.
He has so far scored 3 podiums this year, with a second place in Malaysia, a third place in Canada and another second place ironically behind Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix.
The 22 year old had been linked to replacing Felipe Massa at Ferrari, and is part of their driver academy. However Ferrari boss Luca Di Montezemolo was quoted saying that Perez was too "inexperienced" for a drive with the famous prancing horse, meaning McLaren could snatch him from under Ferrari's nose.
Perez has spoken out about his switch to McLaren, saying "I'm thrilled and delighted to have become a McLaren driver, the McLaren name is one of the greatest in the history of F1. I'm truly honoured that they've chosen me."
He then added "For more than 40 years, McLaren have been a team every racing driver has aspired to drive for. I was brought up on the great stories of Ayrton Senna's many world championship triumphs for McLaren. I've spent the 2012 season working very hard to demonstrate my potential, but I've always remained humble and focused. I'm under no illusion that it is indeed a very big step - as it would be for any driver - but I'm ready for it."
Some see the move as a mistake because of his inexperience, but despite their legendary status McLaren have hired rookies in the past and Perez certainly drives like more experience than he does in reality.
Martin Whitmarsh commented on the signing, saying "It was a string of giant-killing performances that showed us that Sergio lacks nothing in terms of speed and commitment, he's perfectly poised to develop into a world championship challenger. His addition to the McLaren team provides us with the perfect two-pronged driver line-up for the new season."
The recent boom in driver changes means there is now a current vacancy at Sauber. Peter Sauber revealed he would sign Schumacher, who is now without a drive, if he became available and was willing to make the step down. It also leaves the Swiss team with options like Hekki Kovalainen and Pirelli tester Jaime Alguersuari, as well as GP2 driver and reserve for Sauber Esteban Gutierrez.
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