Perez believes he has proven himself

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Sergio Perez says he has proven his “speed and consistency” in 2012.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Sergio Perez eyes Ferrari move (London Evening Standard)

“If there is an opportunity with them (Ferrari) or another team then it’s the time to know. I will have to see what the options are, and from that I will decide. But I think I have done a very good job this season. I have proven I have the speed, and the consistency as well.”

Pirelli: Tyre war not good for Formula 1 (Autosport)

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery: “We work for the sport. The sport has to decide what it wants. If it wants a tyre war and procession racing again, like it did in the early 2000s, when the audience disappeared, than that’s one approach. It’s not for us to decide.”

Why Mercedes are struggling (BBC)

“To solve that rear tyre wear problem, since the Canadian Grand Prix in mid-June Mercedes have removed quite a lot of the downforce-producing devices on the front wing and are never running anywhere near maximum front wing angle.”

Raikkonen’s revival (Sky)

Alan Permane: “For most of that second stint, as he sat some way behind Vettel, I didn’t foresee him doing anything other than staying there and I was a bit concerned at how slow he was going. But he’d just been looking after his tyres and when the time came, he just went crazy. He was quite awesome there.”

Hamilton’s Hungary (ESPN)

“I remember when Jean Alesi [threw] his helmet in to the crowd after he won the race in Montreal and Ferrari went to get the communications piece back because they thought it was worth more than the helmet!”

McLaren: Policy at a price? (GrandPrix)

“Unbelievably, [Alain] Prost leaned over the rail and dropped the trophy into eager hands waiting below. [Ron] Dennis, having received the winning team’s cup, could not believe what he was seeing. Outraged beyond words, Dennis threw the constructor’s trophy at Prost’s feet. It was an extraordinary scene in what amounted to the public airing of a private dispute over the family silverware.”

Comment of the day

Darkenforca’s Whack-A-Mole theory of F1 technology:

In regards to Double DRS, it reminds me of the game Whack-A-Mole.

Every time that a new innovation comes into Formula One, it gets whacked over the head and then is eventually replaced by something else.

That also gets whacked over the head.
Darkenforca

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Daniel and Nefer!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Luigi Villoresi won the non-championship Daily Mail trophy on this day 60 years ago, driving for Ferrari.

Mike Hawthorn drove a Cooper-Bristol to third place behind Francesco Landi, in another Ferrari, in the race at Boreham Airfield in Essex.

Image © Sauber F1 Team

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87 comments on “Perez believes he has proven himself”

  1. ESPN has a typo (through where it should be threw) carried through. Maybe a [sic] would be good.

    1. @matt90 Better just to amend it I reckon. Thanks for that.

    2. What does {sic} mean? I see it a lot for twitter quotes in newspapers.

      1. When you directly quote something with an error in it you put [sic] after it to show its not your error but the person’s you are quoting.

      2. ‘sic erat scriptum’ is latin for ‘as it was written’

  2. There might be no Formula 1 on for a month, but you can still see an ex-Formula 1 driver racing. Jacques Villeneuve is back in the #51 Pepsi Max Commodore at the Paperclip – the local name for Queensland Raceway (follow the link; you’ll see why it’s called “the Paperclip”) – this weekend, and he’ll be taking part in the round at The Circuit Formerly Known As Eastern Creek later this month. Kelly Racing, the team who run the #51 car, have just unveiled Villeneuve’s new livery (which is much nicer than his Townsville atrocity), which kind of got lost in the storm of publicity surrounding the announcement that Red Bull will replace Vodafone as title sponsor of Triple Eight Race Engineering next year.

    Hopefully Villeneuve can do a little better this time around. He certainly can’t do any worse.

    1. Villenueve was propping up the field pretty badly in Townsville, he was a few seconds slower each lap. He seems to be bringing his name and reputation, but not much in the way of driving. The v8s can be a hard beast to master, but I think his performance was probably more a reflection of his current form. The short track should at least make the gap look more respectable.

      Liking the new livery though, the Murphy car has had a few shockers in the last season and a half, looks like they’re finally getting it right.

      Rick Kelly must be a bit miffed about the Triple-8 Red Bull deal though. I thought they were a shoe-in at Kelly racing, given their links with Rick. But I guess Red Bull have a habit of trying to sponsor the best team on the market, and that just happens to be the best team in the field at the moment.

      1. Meanwhile, JV will be in Montreal (Aug. 18) on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve running a Nationwide car as he did a handful of weekends ago at Road America. In fairness to JV, who still yearns to race, he needs a full time gig somewhere so he can gel with a team. These one-off type races, be they in Australia or NA don’t give him the chance to show the super-talent that he still has.

    1. Just read the article – thanks mate!

      If the replicas are made by the same person and are identical, really what’s the difference!

      If I was hamilton I’d want my choice of chassis / car from every season with whatever upgrades installed!

      Can you imagine having all those mclarens lined up in your garage! Perhaps a glass wall between your living room and garage so you can see them always! Maybe some mood lighting and the cars rotating on turntables!

      To the humble F1Fantic fan – XXX porn!!

      1. Yeah, I am completely with you @brooksy007, who wants a shelve full of Santander logo’s apart from their PR department anyway! Far more impressive to have a go at getting that elusive McLaren F1 and maybe the cars he won his championship(‘s – in the future?) with.

    2. Thank ee Yankee.

    3. I get the impression that Lewis and Ron don’t have that milk&honey relationship that we’ve seen in 2007-2008. I wonder what caused that distruption in their relationship.

      1. Milk and honey never existed really. It was a normal relationship. Ron didn’t support his junior year because he loved him but because he thought he had a good potential driver.
        It just seemed like milk and honey because Alonso went all crazy against Ron for not giving him Ferrari no.1 treatment and his fans started yelling how Ron loved Lewis and was against Alonso to explain their driver’s not so smart behavior.

        1. Well, Ron Dennis once described his relationship with Lewis as ‘paternal’. Montoya also confirmed in one interview that the relationship between the two is (was) more than boss-employee:
          http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7006353.stm

  3. When he’s been beaten by Kobayashi? I don’t think so Sergio.

    1. Checo has the link to Ferrari, so it makes sense that he is in line to take Massa’s seat. The sooner the better, what has Ferrari got to lose?

    2. ShaneB457 (@shaneb12345678910)
      2nd August 2012, 1:44

      @craig-o
      I hardly think he’s been beaten by Kobayashi. He’s currently ahead of him in the standings and has secured two podium finishes this year. He’s been unlucky in Silverstone, (Maldonado crashing into him) and China (clutch problem). He had the fastest lap in Monaco and most recently finished 6th in Germany. So yeah, I think he’s done amazingly well in a midfield team and has definately got the edge over Kobayashi.

      Perez would be a great replacement for Massa at Ferrari. If he was to go to the team next year and they would produce a quick car worthy of winning the WDC, then I think that he would definately be a contender for the title, even with Alonso as his teammate. With the tyres being so crucial this year and most definately next year, he would have the edge over most drivers during the race in my opinion.

      1. @shaneb12345678910 I think this year’s Sauber is not a midfield car, except Bahrain and Hungary they should have always been in podium contention. Just like Williams their points doesn’t speak of their speed of the car and under-driven the car.
        Before Hockenheim, I read rumors about Peter Sauber was unhappy with their inconsistencies.

        1. ShaneB457 (@shaneb12345678910)
          2nd August 2012, 8:56

          @vicky

          I think this year’s Sauber is not a midfield car, except Bahrain and Hungary they should have always been in podium contention.

          But for him to secure two podiums so far this season is pretty solid from him. He could have even won in Malaysia, if it wasnt for his team telling him to stay put. (Yes I know he ran wide at the penultimate corner, but still..)

          Hmmmm… I dont know. I think I would have to diasagree with you on the fact that they have been in podium contention for every race bar two. Yes, both Sauber and Williams have really improved their cars but look at how strong McLaren, Red Bull and Lotus are at the moment. Its quite hard to get a step on the podium. Even Mercedes were strong at the start of the year. Look at Maldonado.

          Nevertheless.. I just think that he’s done a solid job at Sauber and his ability to conserve his tyres makes up for his poor qualifying.

          1. ShaneB457 (@shaneb12345678910)
            2nd August 2012, 9:00

            Whoops. Forget the “Look at Maldonado.”

            We really need an edit feature :)

    3. I assume you mean last year, when Kobayashi scored the majority of his points in the 2 races which Perez didn’t start, and when one of Perez’s points scores was unfortunately discounted due to Sauber getting themselves disqualified. If you only count the races both finished, and the Australia score that Perez was unfortunate to lose, they scored the same points I believe. Overall Kobayashi was probably better in 2011 regardless, but that was a year when Perez was a rookie, and Kobayashi had a year and a bits worth of experience over him. Kobayashi also scored the majority of his points at the beginning of the season, when that experience was most important as a separating factor. From Perez’s return he was generally as good or better over the remainder of the season.

      1. Both Kobayashi and Perez, lost points after the first race disqualification.
        The main reason for the points difference is that Sauber puts both cars on different strategies, more often than not, hoping one of the strategies will be the best one for the race.

        1. But Perez lost more. And as I said, the main reason for the points difference is Perez being out of the races where Kobayashi scored over half his points.

  4. Perez is certainly a star of the future – his drive in malaysia was epic! To think that he almost beat the man of the decade – Alonso!

    Apart from his visible talent he appears to be a very level headed young man that doesn’t have an attitude!

    If ferrari think he isn’t experienced enough, they should reconsider! What better way to mould a driver into how your team wants to operate than to take someone like perez! Someone very fast, consistent and unlikely to spark contrivercy or team friction!

    Since webber is now unavailable, who else is there that isn’t under contract that will be able to fill that seat for years to come!

    Where is the downside!! Because unfortunatly massa is costing them money with CC payment!!

    1. What is the address of your dimension, cause in one I’m living it would be a stretch to call Alonso man of decade :)

      I think problem is Ferrari are not as dominant to have a slower second driver to be able to score points. Gap is so narrow being slower than Alonso will put you out of points.

      And as you mention there are couple fast young drivers, but they might cause troubles with Ferrari’s policy.

      For me Kovalainen looks better and better to fill the gap while Alonso is still in Ferrari, with Perez replacing Alonso later on, if he really does live up to all the hype.

      1. I meant in f1 terms – as a driver! Sorry about that!

        I do see your point! Lol

  5. If Perez have any ambition of becoming World Champion, he will drive the wheel out of that Sauber and wait until Alonso leaves Ferrari to join them. Basically same as when Kimi rejected Ferrari while Schumi was there.

    It is possible he will be faster than Alonso, but he is not going to have team support he enjoys at Sauber.

  6. Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery: “We work for the sport. The sport has to decide what it wants. If it wants a tyre war and procession racing again, like it did in the early 2000s, when the audience disappeared, than that’s one approach. It’s not for us to decide.”

    Well said, Paul. Well said!

    1. I must say I really like their approach and open minded, fair spoken way of communicating @fer-no65!

      1. @bascb me too. I like Hembery. He explains everything and is always very open to debate.

        1. Hmmm…interesting. It wasn’t that long ago that I recall one tire maker, can’t remember if it was Michelin or Bridgestone but it was one of them, saying they WANTED a competitor in F1 so that people talked about the tires that whatever driver is on. When it is one tire maker only, and everyone is on the same tires, the tires don’t normally get a mention, and so the advertising impact to the maker for being in F1 is limited.

          I guess the difference is that when one maker is mandated to make the tires, shall we say controversial (read cliffy), to the point where some drivers have complained about being limited by them and they publicly lament that being the case, then the Pirelli name does get enough mention that it is worth them being in F1. If the tires were consistant and didn’t fall off the cliff and give teams grief in trying to figure them out, then I think we would be saying little about the tires and Mr. Hembery might not be so happy about that.

          Also, I don’t think a tire war automatically means a reversion back to processional racing. I think there are more ingredients than that to cause processions, the main one being not the tires but the continued over-dependance that F1 cars have on downforce such that in dirty air the cars are still too handicapped, hence DRS. ie. if they greatly capped their downforce, cars would be relatively much less affected in dirty air, and then whether the tires were cliffy or not, there would be more passing and likely without the need for DRS gadgetry making for phoney passes.

          So I think I’d rather have two makers making ‘real’ tires (not mandated ones that aren’t as good as we know Pirelli et al can make) so that the drivers aren’t limited by them so much, much less downforce so we can get back to drivers making real passes by the seat of their pants on tires they can have confidence in, while they are less handicapped by dirty air, and with no need for DRS.

          1. I would love to see 12 tyre manufactors in F1…

      2. @BasCB Me too, it’s like having that 13th team in F1, in a good way!

    2. Pirelli are holding a gun to our heads and saying this is what you get. Thinking that all involved with F1 from the simple fan to the top team are happy with the product you provide is an insult. Maybe having a second tire manufacturer would result in tires that enable the teams to maximise the potential of their cars in race conditions and not produce a crap shoot of a chance on race day if you don’t turn the wick down and force each team to restrict their potential just to survive to the next set of tires that are complete horsecrap. Get out of Formula One Pirelli the quality of the product you bring to the track has made F1 a joke…

      1. “Pirelli are holding a gun to our heads and saying this is what you get.”

        Did you read what Hembery said? He literally said the exact opposite of this!

      2. Your comment might make sense if it was not that Pirelli is currently delivering exactly the quality of tyres asked from them by the FIA and as proposed by the teams when they were selected @Ted Bell

        And as @herman mentions mr. Hembrey is saying that they will adjust to what tyres the sport asks from them.

        1. I guess I missed the part when the teams said Pirelli build us tires that are so unpredictable that it will take half of the season to understand how they even work and will produce results that few on earth could have ever predicted. Also make them so bad that when they wear out the rubble left over will so litter the track that if you are off line just a bit too much it will end your race day. Tires meant to improve racing have done little to resolve the processionals that many fear will ruin F1. Tires that affect the sport in a negative way are now being recognized as the proper way for the sport. Horsecrap.

          1. Pirelli were accepted as an F1 tyre supplier with the brief that they produce tyres that have high degradation and that make tyre strategy a part of racing again. This they have done, and therefore they have completed their brief. You may not like the impact Pirelli has had on the sport, and you are entitled to that opinion. But Pirelli have only done what was asked of them by the FIA and whether or not their tyres have improved F1 is actually a side issue.

            tl;dr: Pirelli’s tyres are bad for the sport =/= Pirelli didn’t follow their brief from the FIA.

  7. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    2nd August 2012, 3:33

    I would LOVE to see what he could do in a Ferrari.

    1. My instant thought was, not much worse than Massa. But we all saw what happened to Fisi… … I hope he does well where ever he goes.

  8. I think his racecraft is super and the way he can stay out there on crumbling tyres for 35 laps is awesome (even though the strategy dosent always produce a net advantage for him) but I think Checo lacks a bit of raw speed. Statistics should coroborate my thoughts of Kobayashi being the stronger qualifier

  9. “I remember when Jean Alesi through(sic) his helmet in to the crowd after he won the race in Montreal and Ferrari went to get the communications piece back because they thought it was worth more than the helmet!”

    As far as I know, Alesi only threw his helmet into the crowd in Montreal at his last race there, in 2001, when he still drove for Prost and finished fifth. I was at most 15 feet from the lucky guy who caught the helmet and there was no radio equipment, nor did anyone from Ferrari come running.

    1. I too always thought they had earphones that were not part of the helmet.

    2. I also recall it being an issue with Alesi at Prost, at the time the team was very low on money and not able to easily replace radio equipment (though I’m not saying the reference to it happening at Montreal is wrong but I don’t recall hearing about that at the time)

  10. I read the COTD in the round-up yesterday and had a good snigger. Nice, pithy and regretably accurate.

  11. I think Maurice answered his own question.

    then McLaren should quietly keep a replica. Who’s going to notice the difference when it’s parked among 475 originals?

    I mean, that can also be said about Lewis.

    What Maurice failed to do, is give a convincing argument why Lewis deserves it more than the Mclaren team, all of which contributed, in some small way, to his win. Or why Lewis’ deserves it more than Button, or his pit crew.

    Lewis, is a very visible, but ultimate linked component of that team, and if he wants to be the big star with all the attention, then he isn’t going to fit in very well with the team centric Mclaren is he? But I guess it’s always been like that hasn’t it?

    1. “What Maurice failed to do, is give a convincing argument why Lewis deserves it more than the Mclaren team”

      Because the teams get a constructor trophy for a reason.

      Argument over. :]

      1. Gonna be honest, I think that’s irrelevant.

        I think if you enter in that Lewis is only one part of the team, then it is a moot point. Yes it’s awarded to the driver with the most points, but that doesn’t mean it was wholly and only earned by the driver does it? Nor, do I think that it makes him entitled to it by the divine words of beelzebub, as your “argument over” has insinuated.

        1. “I think if you enter in that Lewis is only one part of the team, then it is a moot point. Yes it’s awarded to the driver with the most points, but that doesn’t mean it was wholly and only earned by the driver does it?”

          Again, at the end of a race, constructor gets a trophy, drivers gets a trophy. The constructor gets a trophy for their contribution, driver gets one for theirs. This is a non-argument. It’s only Mclaren that take a drivers trophy off the driver.

        2. @mike
          But surely the team needs a driver right?
          How dominant would the good old MP4-4 have been if Gordon Murray had to drive it him self?
          In the same way that Senna wouldn’t have won the championship on his bare feet.
          But isn’t the reason they give two separate trophies, to acknowledge the teams part in a race win, as well as the driver?
          I don’t see how the team has so much right to a race win that they can keep both trophies. Like if the driver was absolutely irrelevant in gaining that position.

          1. @mads

            But surely the team needs a driver right?

            Right…. Anyway…

            Has anyone caught on that I’m not arguing that Lewis shouldn’t get it?

            I’m arguing that, the tag “driver” doesn’t necessarily mean he earned it to keep alone. The trophies get kept where the whole team resides, not just the team boss, so isn’t there an argument that as the whole team contributed to getting it, that they should share it as a team? I think there is, so I don’t think either party is necessary right.

      2. The driver risks life and limb for the adoration of fans, some $, and that bit of tin. Let him have it, whats the big deal really?

        LH will leave some day, and be replaced by another driver, but the team lives on, surrounded by the fruits of their labor, the Constructors Trophies. Agreed, the Drivers dont do this alone, but leave something for the guy who was the pointy end of that spear , and who probably starts a boring, sad, much less important life as a “has-been” after F1.

      3. There are no trophies for 2nd & 3rd places in the constructor championship. Don’t the teams also deserve part of those trophies?

    2. Who’s going to notice the difference when it’s parked among 475 originals?

      Nope, don’t think that can be said of Hamilton, which was the crux of his point. And as N said, it’s a drivers trophy. It’s for the driver.

      1. That didn’t work very well, was meant to just be ‘when it’s parked among 475 originals’ in bold- that is the crux of his point.

        1. Haha :D

          Just, I think that you have to ask what difference will it make to Hamilton’s collection as well, And I can’t find any explanation which doesn’t also tell me that Mclaren has a right to keep it.

          I’m damn sure in my mind that Hamilton should fight tooth and nail for it, however, I don’t think it’s necessarily “right” and that Mclaren keeping them is necessarily “wrong”.

          1. Think about it like this, if Lewis is going to stay at McLaren his whole career and they keep the originals the man will retire with no original trophies to show for his effort.
            That doesn’t sit right with me (and I’m not even a fan of Lewis or McLaren).

          2. I agree, I hate it as well.

  12. Dimitris 1395 (@)
    2nd August 2012, 11:42

    In my opinion, Perez is fast, talented but not consistent. He has done some excellent races (i.e. Malaysia, Canada) but in other races he is average or even below average. If he is able to be consistent he will have a great career in F1. I also think Sauber is the perfect team for Checo. He can put some battles, prove his talent and gain the maximum from his car…

    1. This season he wasn’t a single time average or belowe average in races. In Australia he started from last place after gearbox failure in quali and even on failed strategy (on 2 stopper he would be with Maldonado pushing Alonso for 5th) he was 8th. In China again Sauber chose wrong strategy (remember, he was right behind Hamilton on lap 10, but at the end he finished 15 second behind). In Bahrain Sauber had no pace, because of huge tyre degradation. In Spain he was 4th when Grosjean punctured his rear tyre, then he retired after hydraulic failure. In Monaco he had suspension failure in quali and started dead last. In Europe SC spoiled his strategy and he had to drive on long last stint on softs, which gave up at the end. In Great Britain Maldonado took him out. In Hungary agan Sauber made terrible strategy mistake by considering one stopper, which was changed too late and he was stuck behind Ricciardo, which took away any chance to score points (he was the fastest driver in last stint).

      If it was Alonso, Button, Hamilton or Webber, you would probably know that, because Sky, BBC or any other media scrutiny their races in minor details. Unfortunately drivers from so called midfield teams have no such luck and their races are being described based on stereotypes, like Kobayashi makes banzai moves, Perez only saves tyres and nothing else, di Resta is so good he should be at least in a Ferrari (but when Hulk started outperofm him consistently suddenly British media are silent on that matter), Kovalainen is great based on quali (nothing about Petrov matching him or being faster in races) and so on.

      As Checo supporter I’m massively impressed by his performances this season. Yes, he made really few mistakes and few things should be done different, but his consistency is really great. If you describe him as incosistent it was true for his form last year, but this season, as a person who follows him all the time, it only can be said that he’s consistent. His big mistakes were made in 3 qualis, Canada – 0,5 slower than Kobayashi, Europe – 0,6 slower than Koba and Germany where he should be in Q3 if he only got 3 sectors hook up. Even then he said he understood where the problem was and coming Hungary he put 4 tenths in quali over Kobayashi. With his races I have no real issues and believe me or not, I’m not saying that because of being his fan.

      His racecraft and consistency massively improved from last year and for that reason I would like to see him staying at Sauber for one more year, to learn and improve even more and to lead the team into great results. He is too good to be number 2 at Ferrari and hopefully he knows that too.

  13. To me it seems a little premature for Perez to be making statements like these. He’s been performing well, but well enough to be telling Ferrari to hurry up and give him a job already? I don’t know. I like the guy, but if I were Ferrari I think I’d be slightly put off. I doubt this is likely to make them announce their intentions any more quickly. It might even have the opposite effect!

    1. Who knows, it might just be that he is pushing for Sauber to confirm keeping him next year. After all, this is F1 silly season time :-)

  14. Qualify 6-5 Kobayashi
    Race 5-6 Perez
    Podium 0-2 Perez
    Pointfinish 5-5 even
    Point 33-47 Perez

    I think everyone overrate perez.
    In Japan, most of F1 fans believe that Kobayashi is as fast as Perez.
    Both Kobayashi and Perez has had unlucky races and lucky races especially in qualify.
    Difference of result came from just difference of strategy.

    Kobayashi and Perez are both good drivers but not world champion talent.
    Both are the same level as about Heidfeld or Fisichella.

    1. I Love the Pope
      2nd August 2012, 15:26

      You could be right about their talent levels, though it would be nice to see each one in championship-competing car, if only for a season.

      That said, there is nothing wrong with being Heidfeld or Fisichella, who both raced in Formula 1 for a number of years, and have had the chance to compete at the highest level in other forms of racing (such as Le Mans). In other words, if neither Kobayashi or Perez become world champions, I won’t weep for them. I am happy, as I’m sure they are, that they get to race cars for a living!

    2. Both are the same level as about Heidfeld or Fisichella.

      The same (or worse) could be said of a pre Brawn GP Jenson Button. Yet, regardless of what one thinks of JB now, he will always be a World Champion driver.

      For my in-expert opinion, its too early to say if Kobi or Perez are WDC material. Two years ago, Kobi was a joke, and they called him “Crash Kobiashi”. Now he is considered in the top of the mid-field.

      Wonder how many in the viewing public (like us) thought much more of Alonso when he was at the same stage as Perez.

      1. Despite being on a bad team Alonso was always recknoed as the next big thing, he out paced his team mate by seconds, that’s the thing they are looking for, the probability of finding 2 great youngster on a team is so low that having matched team mates only proves that both aren’t as special as Alonso, Webber, Vettel, Raikkonen, Lewis were.

      2. Wonder how many in the viewing public (like us) thought much more of Alonso when he was at the same stage as Perez.

        If my memory is correct, Alonso in Minardy was more and more rated and drove better than Perez now in Sauber. (Alonso beat his teammate perfectly and challenged mid-filed with slowest car. Perez is even with his teammate and lost his chance with competitive car)
        Perez and Kobayashi ‘s performance are as good as Massa was in Sauber.

    3. I don’t believe in neither. I think that the “most wanted” newcomers on the grid are Di Resta and Hulk.

      1. I agree with your other comment (and it is partly why I didn’t believe in Alguersuari like so many people seemed to), but this one actually contradicts it. Hulk was beaten by Barrichello and Di Resta was beaten by Sutil.

  15. I was reading this on, although the not most credible website but does provide some accurate news, reports are suggesting that a Felipe renewal has now expired, I hope this is true as I don’t think he has done enough this year. Domenicalli also said they are looking for a number 2 driver, ruling out the likes of Button and Kimi, he also said money may be a factor. This leaves really Heikki and Perez but Heikki has a good friendship with Alonso. I rate Perez as a driver and don’t want him to make a move that could ruin his career, he has a long one ahead of him and instead I think he would be a good replacement for Alonso when he retires.

    1. Why start as a clear number two to the best Alonso hurt him ? He seats at Ferrari to learn but won’t loose time at all, just look at Grosjean side to Kimi or Vettel to Webber.

      1. You just explained why exactly he should not go to Ferrari. If Lotus and Red Bull might deploy 2nd driver to aid Championship in the end of the season. Ferrari will have Perez bow down to Alonso in Melbourne.

        1. And what is wrong about that? Massa was no: 2 to Schumacher and got his change later as main challenger in 2009 and just lost to Hamilton. When Alonso retires and Checo is good enough he will get his turn. Ferrari in that case is better than other team and don’t just drop there driver for none performance. Of that Massa is testimony.

          1. Sorry, it should read, “Ferrari in that case is better than other teams and don’t just drop there driver for none performance.”

  16. I think Heikki is perfect number 2, which is What Ferrari want. Also Heikki himself desperately want top tier seat.

  17. I like the Whack a mole image. I mean i think in some ways its good that new technology usually gets banned, it means that the engineers have to come up with another new exciting way of going faster, that willl get covered up, leaked to the press, other teams try to catch up, then moan, it gets banned, and it happens all over again. If we didn’t have this whack a mole situation we probably wouldn’t have as many changes in technology in F1 that we do have.

  18. I dunno about Perez. Sure he’s good, a pleasure to watch but I don’t see how another year at Sauber could harm. His future really depends on Massa. I can’t see anyone taking on a Ferrari seat for only a year to keep the seat warm for Perez.

  19. Sorry but Perez has been kicking butt of all rookies so far including Di Resta and Hulk who have not stick their chances, and also not so rookies including Massa and Schumaher and actually got the points to prove it.
    Sauber is a poor qualifier but the guy is the best on tires since last year.
    He can do it already the motivation will make him hard to bit if he joins Ferrari next year, if Ferrari don’t make the move now they waist a lot of effort training this guy already cause there are more teams and besides ALL the experience drivers don’t want a Ferrari seat now is Alonso’s team. Ferrari for now needs WCC points and if Perez was with them already they will be a solid second now.
    Sure he is not English but if Hamilton start from scratch in big team what is the big deal with Montezemolo ? He was just fishing but not one bite, he needs maybe just one more Perez podium to eat his pride and take the guy has now proof a few more results one more podium in a mid team car. KOB is not bad but he has never got a podium and is his third year make or die, unlike Perez with BIG sponsor too !
    Ok I’m Perez fan too : )

    1. Btw I hope Hamilton goes to Williams and pair with Maldonado, so Perez can join Mclaren and show what Button is made of, that will be awesome too !

      1. Actually you can be spot on money :) I have no solid intel on that, but from what I gather Santander is interested in Perez being their face in Mexico and there are only 2 teams right now which Santander suports :) It all depends on if Ferrari is really after Vettel for 2014 and what Mclaren’s plans are for 2014. If Hamilton signs for 1 year only, then Checo can be with Button at McLaren for ’14. If Lewis signs for 2 years or more, Perez can replace Button who is on 2+1 deal (2012/2013+2014). Alternatively it’s all my fantasy and he will stay at Sauber for years to come or something :)

        Let me just add that my feeling is he’ll stay at Sauber, who need him to have any chance of successfull 2013. It’s the same feeling I have about Marussia replacing one driver (the one who it would seem had contract until 2014) for another ;)

        1. Perez to McLaren would indeed be great, Santander, as mentioned by @ArmchairExpert might want Sergio as their face in Mexico….BUT! Sergio’s main sponsor is TelMex, so unless Vodafone does bail from McLaren as it has being rumored, I doubt this would be possible. IMO, Sergio has proven himself. Too early to say if world champion material of course, but he has done a great job and deserves to be seen in a different light other than the tyre-saver

  20. I think that Perez has absolutely proven himself. However, I love the combination of Perez, Kobayashi and Sauber way too much for anything to change yet…especially when they’ve got a decent car!

  21. Despite great drive @ Hockenheim and career-high in points, I believe Kobayashi is at high risk of losing the seat when the contract expires and no major sponsors. I really hope Perez can move up next season and keep Kobayashi in a competitive car.

  22. Fernando Deutsch
    4th August 2012, 0:43

    Personally, I would like to see Sergio gaining more experience before a jump to a mayor team like Ferrari, but on the other hand, because of the very likely available seat, next year would be the right time to do it.

    I think Sergio has done a great job on the car. Yes the Sauber seems to be a competitive car, not at the level of the big teams, but definitely has good potential. I think the mistakes has come more from team decisions and logistics. There have been races, like Hungary, were the team should have called Sergio way before the terrible lap times he did on the final of the first stint. On Silverstone, Sauber sent him on the wrong tires, after being so strong on all free practices. Same thing on Hockenheim, were it took forever to send him out before track conditions went worst.

    There are still many races left on the season. Lets see what happen. It would be great to see another podium from Sergio, that would be fantastic.

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