Perez “amazed” by criticism of China performance

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In the round-up: Sergio Perez admits he was startled by the degree of criticism he received after finishing 11th in China.

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Perez feeling the pressure (Reuters)

“I have definitely felt the pressure. At McLaren everyone is watching your performance – in every single practice session, every single race. I find it quite amazing that… after one bad weekend I received so many criticisms.”

Bahrain circuit chief insists F1 grand prix will go ahead safely (The Guardian)

Bahrain International Circuit chairman, Zayed Alzayani: “Our job is to make sure the event passes smoothly. We do our part and whatever happens outside the track somebody else is responsible for. I personally think it’s safe to do the race, there is no problem.”

Truth is a casualty at Bahrain GP (The Telegraph)

“When I arrived in the Shia village of Banbar on Tuesday night, the 82-year-old [Bernie Ecclestone] was not exactly being portrayed as a broker of international peace. Instead, he was drawn on a placard shaking hands with a sheikh, blood dripping from their hands on to a gigantic dollar symbol. As a student in the community of Al-Ahli said earlier this week: ‘The race brings money to the regime, which they then use to buy weapons to attack us.'”

There are protests, but a vast majority support Bahrain Grand Prix (Daily Mail)

“With revolutionary zeal, the organisers routinely ring journalists arriving in the country to inform them where and when their next orchestrated rally will be staged. They will then drive them there and return them to their hotels a couple of hours later, the protest over… until the next one.”

F1 courts controversy with Bahrain race (FT, registration required)

“Police briefly detained an ITV TV crew as it filmed near the capital on Thursday, and according to the opposition scores of people have been arrested in Shia villages close to the Bahrain International Circuit in the southern part of the main island.”

Troubled Grosjean gets new chassis (Autosport)

“Grosjean said on Thursday in Bahrain that his confidence was still high despite his issues, but conceded finding the right operating window for the tyres is proving harder than in 2012.”

Jenson Button Q&A (Sky)

“It is a bit disappointing [Pirelli have changed the tyre allocation] – the soft would have been nice. Where we are at the minute, we try to do different things with the strategy and that is what is getting us points at the minute – perhaps more points than the car deserves. We will make the best of it, it is still so hot here, so it is still not going to be easy on the tyres and that is good for us.”

Heikki Kovalainen: “I’m here to help the race drivers…” (Adam Cooper’s F1 Blog)

“My role is different to what it was before. I’m working 100% now for the team, and I’ll give all I can to help the race drivers and help the team.”

Women in F1 (GoCar)

Former FIA medical delegate Dr Gary Hartstein: “I’ll say it right now, out loud and at the outset, there is no physiologic reason that a woman can’t successfully drive a Formula 1 car in competition.”

Bahrain Grand Prix Betting: Webber’s luck to change (UniBet)

My Bahrain Grand Prix preview for Unibet.

Pirelli ‘should not change tyres’ – Gary Anderson (BBC)

“At the moment, Lotus and Ferrari have been strong, Red Bull have been good in particular tracks. It has been moving around and it will continue to do so at the tracks that are coming up. It won’t just be one winner all the time. Change the tyres and that might not be the case.”

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Comment of the day

@Maciek reads between the lines of Alonso’s latest remarks:

What stands out for me is that he praises Raikkonen and Hamilton for their driving, but with Vettel he talks about the strong car and how championship position is not important right now.

So I read as a bit of a taunt. Not surprising, seeing as he’s finished closerthanthis to Vettel in two of the last three years.
@Maciek

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On this day in F1

Red Bull scored their first win four years ago today in the Chinese Grand Prix.

They have won almost half of all F1 races since – 35 out of 76.

Image © McLaren/Hoch Zwei

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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73 comments on “Perez “amazed” by criticism of China performance”

  1. Perez was saying that he was able to fight for the title, but now he does not understand the critisicm? He rose great expectations and now he is paying the price. He is a good driver, the McLaren he is driving isn’t a winning car, but I am certain it ‘ll be. Time will telll

    1. @dimitris-1395
      Perez wanted to fight for the title because he likely predicted that the MP4-28 would have been as good as the MP4-27, which was the fastest car of 2012. He was dead wrong.

      Of course he rose great expectations given what how fast the McLaren car was in the year he signed with the team. That Macca now don’t have a winning car isn’t his fault.

      1. Kingshark he has shown nothing so far weather its a bad car or not, if he really is a big thing in F1 then he should 100% be close to Button in qualifying, In race’s But is stronger but he is not a great qualifyer neither was Perez last year but the gaps to a person of Button’s qualifying calibre is not good. Perez is in his 3rd year aswell not his rookie year he also has had a taste of the champagne in F1 so no excuse’s. Id say he has been one of the biggest dissapointments for me.

      2. @kingshark

        It isn’t his fault, but it can go some way to explain all the criticism.

        1. I think you’re all correct. But part of me also feels that McLaren don’t have a driver in their car to see what it can really do. Just a man’s opinion.

        2. I think it just shows what is expected of a front running team like McLaren AND its drivers.

          Its clear the car is not up to it, thats why Withmarsh is feeling the pressure. And its clear Perez did get less out of the car than Button, so he is under pressure as well. At Lotus its Grosjean feeling the pressure, at Red Bull some of that is going towards Webber as well.

      3. And now they rely on tyres to score… oh McLaren.

    2. Dead on, @dimitris-1395 .

      He stated his goal when he signed for McLaren. But 27 was way better than the 28 so far. But if any team can turn it around, it’s McL.

    3. He rose great expectations and now he is paying the price.

      So your explanation for his poor performances is … bad karma?

      Perez was no doubt expecting a car that was as good as the MP4-27. It didn’t happen. And in a car as good as the MP4-27, he would probably be doing a considerably better job than what he is doing now.

    4. I dont think you can blame Perez for raising hopes… heck.. Jenson says hes going to win another title, but looking at his performances all of last season, we know that isn’t going to happen. I dont see people trashing Jenson for that.

      Perez is just settling in.. all it takes is one or two strong performances in the next 4-5 races for the same critics to turn their opinions around

    5. Welcome to the real world of F1 Sergio.

  2. The criticism is justified though. When you sign for a top team you’re expected to be on it from day 1, not being outqualified by someone who has had 1 pole in 3 and a half years and jostling with Force Indias for minor points, while his teammate is fighting at the front, leading a few laps, and making fewer pit stops.

    1. well perez never had good raw pace, out-qualified by Kobayashi regularly

      1. What do you mean by regularly? It was 8-11 in favor of Perez in 2013.

        1. @kingshark there’s more to tell than the stat there.

        2. What do you mean by regularly

          1 of every 2? Kobayashi was a good qualifier though

          It was 8-11 in favor of Perez in 2013

          thats a bit unfair…Kobayashi hasnt contested a qualifying session in 2013

          1. Could Kobayashi have done better at Mclaren? Possibly, but there is no way to know. I think Kobayashi was quite unlucky last year, he could have better results. All the podium that Perez scored, he qualified outside the top 10, when Kobayashi did. Taking nothing away from his driving, he only managed the podiums because of good tyre strategy.

            I believe there is more to come from Perez, but I think the critisicm is just. He needs to up his game and he’s looked very meek over the first couple races.

            Going back to the question,could Kobayashi have done better at Mclaren? Hulkenberg would have, without a doubt. So Mclaren shouldnt be complaining too much. Yes they have right to criticise their driver, but they knew what they were getting when they signed him…a title sponsorship from Telmex next year.

          2. https://www.racefans.net/statistics/2012-f1-statistics/driver-form-guides/sergio-perez/ Perez outqualified Kobayashi by an average of a staggering 0.02s. Kobayashi also had 3 top 3 starting positions, Perez had 0.

  3. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    19th April 2013, 1:09

    Former FIA medical delegate Dr Gary Hartstein: …While intriguing, these results still need to be confirmed by other research. Meanwhile, we can only wonder if it’s here that we need to look to find an answer to the question so indelicately raised by Sir Stirling.”

    There are probably more differences in a matter of preferences only. Both boys and girls drive cars in the streets, but even in minor categories you see more boys than girls racing.
    So assuming (in theory) F1 is just for the 22 best drivers in the world, the proportion man racing / women racing can be the only thing making us see 22 guys in F1 and not any girl.
    But in reality, money talks and not necesarily the best 22 are out there. There are some bought seats, as we all know.

    1. And that’s the minor categories that matter for the big picture.

  4. Wonder if Heiki K. is on his way to be the next Pedro de la Rosa, a great car development driver…

    1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      19th April 2013, 1:25

      A little better than De la Rosa, regardin Heikki’s victory against none to Pedro.

      WHat it can be even more worrying, I remember Pedro racing for McLaren replacing Juan Pablo Montoya. While Montoya had victories, Pedro couldn’t.

      cough Perez! cough

      1. @omarr-pepper

        In 2005 Pedro De La Rosa only did 1 race, finishing 5th. In 2006, he did 8 races (out of 18) in place of Montoya, but Mclaren didn’t win any races that year. He took 2nd in Hungary and 19 points, only 7 points shy of Montoya’s tally from the first 10 races in fact.

  5. I’m quite amazed at Perez being amazed himself at getting criticism, he seemed a bit cocky and over confident last year expecting to walk into McLaren and win a championship.

    1. What would you expect someone going to a winning team like McLaren to say? “I’m happy to join the team and aim to score consistent points next season”?

    2. @howard to be honest I think every minor to middle team driver says the same

    3. Had he used “we” instead of “I” when talking about his expectations for 2013 things would have been put in another light, wouldn’t it. But then again, we would get back on him for being a PR-machine. I guess it’s a no-win situation for the drivers when talking about subjects like these.

  6. Multiple exclamation points. His tweets always seem overly animated and squeal filled. I do believe Mr. Alonso is officially smitten.

    1. @eastman – It’s all part of the mind games. Alonso, the master of psychological warfare, has clearly chosen to pose as the least-threatening thing he can think of – a sixteen year-old girl.

      1. One of the best comments I’ve seen in a while:) Thumbs up

  7. About the COTD

    What stands out for me is that he praises Raikkonen and Hamilton for their driving, but with Vettel he talks about the strong car and how championship position is not important right now.

    I don´t understand how this can be a taunt. True that Vettel is a 3 time wdc but that doesn´t in any way earn him respect. There are a lot of people that don´t respect him or his titles because in the way that he has achieved them. I´m not surprised about Alonso´s comments because I guess he feels that SV is all car. Take Hamilton for instance; He´s 3 races into the season and already has a pole in a Mercedes! That is talent! and Kimi well, Alonso has raced him way before Vettel ever popped into the F1 radar so it´s no real surprise that he respects Kimi more than a “kid” that has had the best car all these years!
    Now, I know I´m gonna get a lot of heat for having said this but, SV might win more WDC but what is so great about winning titles when you haven´t had to really get your nails dirty like most other champions have had to?
    In MHO, he has just been lucky to have the biggest pocket backing him and getting the best designer build his car.

    1. well Vettel is still young and chances are its only a matter of time before Vettel is not at red bull and/or is not racing an Adrian Newey special. Will be interesting to see his demeanor when he’s not winning 6 or 7 races a year. Would be nice to see him grow out of the finger charade too, if he doesnt and he’s not winning races that often maybe he’ll start putting up 3 fingers for finishing 3rd and so on..

      1. Will be interesting to see his demeanor when he’s not winning 6 or 7 races a year.

        Apart from 2011, that would be his every season so far.

      2. @me262

        well Vettel is still young and chances are its only a matter of time before Vettel is not at red bull and/or is not racing an Adrian Newey special. Will be interesting to see his demeanor when he’s not winning 6 or 7 races a year. Would be nice to see him grow out of the finger charade too

        I completely agree with you!

    2. Dave the Gutter
      19th April 2013, 5:29

      Maybe SV is just so good everybody just thinks it is all car. Gretzky got 215points in 1985-86…how the **** did he do that? All stick? Skates? Elbow pads????? Talent.

      1. Well Dave, you´re comparing 2 totally different things. In hockey, the human plays a much bigger role (hand, feet, eye coordination, etc.), in F1, the car has an even bigger role than the human. I am not saying the guy is not talented, I´m just Implying that his car can make up for what he may lack. Simple as that.

    3. @karter22

      already has a pole in a Mercedes!

      Well, back in 2009, after 2008 when Toro Rosso beat Red Bull, Vettel gave the team their first pole in his third race with the team, he also gave the team frist victory on rainy China in the same race. So Vettel beats Hamilton ;)…

      And being serious, it maybe not a taunt, it just Alonso is dismissive of the man that have beating him three times in a row…. so you draw your own conclusions…

      1. @celeste , haha, true, Vettel won Red Bull and STR’S first races. I’d call that “talent” too.

        I know, @dr-jekyll and @karter22 that you’re not making SV out to be bad, but it’s not exactly fair to say Vettel shouldn’t be respected because of “the way” he won. It’s not like he cheated, he made the most of his cars (having started out in the midfield, as Yappy pointed out), as the other champions did, to get to where he is. If you’re desperate for him to move teams, then bear in mind that Hamilton took 6 full years until he moved teams, Vettel is only in his 5th year with Red Bull.

        1. @david-a

          It’s not like he cheated, he made the most of his cars

          I wouldn´t go so far as to call him a cheater but, brasil 2012, as well as Abu Dhabi 2012 were races in which the sister team cars jumped out of the way for him (still can´t get over how JEV pulled off track for him in abu) and in Brasil Schumi didn´t even put a fight (burried my devotion to him as a professional driver) so you see, he has had help, it´s not only been him and add to that the Newey cars and well… I´ll leave it at that!
          Keep in mind, he does have talent but, he is not as good as most people make him out to be!

          1. @karter22

            Well, drivers have the choice to fight who they want. It’s not always entertaining, but there is a high chance that regardless of what those guys did, Vettel would have got past them anyway.

          2. @david-a

            there is a high chance that regardless of what those guys did, Vettel would have got past them anyway

            If the STR drivers knew that they wouldn´t get canned like Alguersuari did, then maybe they might put up a fight but the thing is they never will because they all want Webber´s seat so until then they will always be at SV´s beck and call. Simple fact right there. And anyhow, that is a big assumption that you´re making. I also feel he could have passed them but it might not have been easy and he could have sustained damage as it has been seen before that he is not the best at wheel to wheel combat (turkey 2010).
            Bottom line is, if he is so good, he should not need the STR drivers to move out of the way, simple as that. If they are professionals they should not make it easy for him but we all know that the STR cars are basically an extension for RBR and that they will do anything to favour them from time to time.
            I just find it Ironic that people used this same arguement areffering to Alonso and now they choose to turn the other way when RBR or SV do it. XD

      2. @celeste
        Well Celeste, it has been thouroughly been discussed in this site that the STR was not such a bad car. Like I said before, the guy has some talent or else he wouldn´t be where he is but, he has had fairly good equipment most of the time if not al the time.
        Now you go back and check out Alonso´s career. He did have some great races in a Minardi!
        So you draw your conclusions!
        As for Vettel beating him, well, technically, RBR beat Ferrari in 2010 because of strategy, Ferrari covered the wrong driver and in 2012 well, lets just say that with 3 cars in the race that got out of the way for him, really isn´t all that impressive to me. I´ll give him that he had mental strength to keep it together but, there were some that helped him out too!

        1. it has been thouroughly been discussed in this site that the STR was not such a bad car.

          That´s your opinion 5 years later, back in 2008 and if you read the live blogging that Keith did everyone agree that TR was a dog of a car. That´s not the point, your arguing that Hamilton > Vettel becuase he got a pole in a Mercedes when Mercedes has being amount the best 4 teams in F1 since it made its comeback in 2010.

          On the other hand TR was 7 on 2007 and finished 6 in 2008 and RBR finished 5 on 2007 and 7 in 2008. So both teams were wost placed and werent as strong as Mercedes is now.

          If you support Alonso is ok,but don´t dismissed Vettel as a “kid”, even Alonso had a good car back in 2005 and 2006, unlimited testing and teammates than didn´t fight him. Every champions has a circunstances that supporting their winnings, but the constacy that Vettel has show as the front os the grid is the one of a world champion.

          1. @celeste

            even Alonso had a good car back in 2005 and 2006

            Come on now Celeste!! You cannot say the 2005 Renault was the best car! It wasn´t and it has also been thouroughly discussed in here. The 2006, maybe, that´s a whole different kettle all together but still, in 2006, Alonso got lucky because schumi blew his engine in Japan as maybe @todfod can vouche for that or even @kingshark ! So you see, Alonso did have it harder than SV has. Oh and just to make it clear, it is not my opinion that the STR was not a bad car, multiple people in the forum have stated that.
            Like I said before, the “kid” does have talent, otherwise he wouldn´t be were he is now, I´m just saying that , I, as well as others and even Alonso (assuming here) don´t respect Vetel for the stated reasons. So he´s a 3 time WDC, so what? Senna once said: “every year there´s a champion but it´s not always a great champion” . That is how I feel personally. Maybe when and if he ever leaves Newey´s or RBR´s skirt and moves into a team in which he actually has to struggle to win a WDC, maybe and only maybe then I might respect him. But all things aside, I´m just a fan so my opinion or whom I respect really doesn´t matter but, that is what makes Hamilton´s early achievements with Mercedes so great! That is also why Schumi´s move to Ferrari who were in those years a headless beast so great. Schumi managed to turn Ferrari around and Hamilton seems to be doing the same at Mercedes. What has SV done at RBR but drive? He´s good but not great and has had excellent equipment!
            We are all entitled to cheer or hate whomever we like, it´s human nature and it´ll always be an endless debate.

          2. @karter22

            Come on now karter!! You cannot say the 2012 RB8 was the best car! It wasn´t and it has also been thouroughly discussed in here. It was the Mclarean.

            Beside I didn´t say Alonso had the best car, I said he had “a good car”.

            And by that let´s say Vettel didn´t have things easy last year (Early races of the season, Abu Dhabi and Brazil). And back in 2010 when Webber was fighting with everything, contrary to Trulli who just was a perfect second driver as Massa is now.

            Hamilton´s early achievements with Mercedes so great! That is also why Schumi´s move to Ferrari who were in those years a headless beast so great. Schumi managed to turn Ferrari around and Hamilton seems to be doing the same at Mercedes.

            Maybe when Hamilton earn his championship with Mercedes we can retake that point. Until now we don´t kow if it is Hamilton who is changing Mercedes or the army of engineers they have.

            What has SV done at RBR but drive? He´s good but not great and has had excellent equipment!

            Until Vettel arrived to RB they hand´t achieve anything. I´m not saying he did it all by himself but even before Horner was saying that Vettel has the power to chance a team as he did with Toro Rosso.

            We are all entitled to cheer or hate whomever we like, it´s human nature and it´ll always be an endless debate.

            You are right, and for me Alonso is not great, neither is Hamilton, yet. But we will agree to disagree.

          3. @celeste

            Come on now karter!! You cannot say the 2012 RB8 was the best car! It wasn´t and it has also been thouroughly discussed in here. It was the Mclarean.

            Oh dear. The RB8 was the best car in the second half of the season. The McLaren was the fastest but with it´s reliability issues, I would not call it the best. The RB8 won 4 races in a row, no other car was able to do that.

            contrary to Trulli who just was a perfect second driver as Massa is now

            Trulli?? As in Jarno “the train” Trulli? Please. He was quick sometimes but Massa could´ve beat him with his eyes closed.

            Until now we don´t kow if it is Hamilton who is changing Mercedes or the army of engineers they have.

            Well, you are in your right to doubt Hamilton but that “army” of engineers you´re talking about, don´t come into effect until 2014, at least Paddy is coming until 2014 So I fail to see the logic in the comment. If you are referring to Ross, well he is talented and knows how to design a car as well. I just find it odd that in the 3 Years Nico has driven for Merc, he just got one pole and 1 win; Schumi stumble onto a podium finish and had pole but lost it to a penalty in Monaco. That is three years worth; hamilton has 1 pole and 1 podium in three races. You think about that!

            Until Vettel arrived to RB they hand´t achieve anything. I´m not saying he did it all by himself

            I agree that RBR hadn´t achieved anything and I also agree he didn´t do it all by himself. RBR does have the their own little army with Adrian Newey, creator of legendary cars, unbeatable cars such as the 93 Williams, RB6, RB7, RB8 (at least in the second half of the season), etc.
            You´re right, he didn´t do it all by himself, he had help from Kinky Kily, Kate´s dirty sister, etc. XD

            You are right, and for me Alonso is not great, neither is Hamilton, yet

            Your opinion and I respect it. I don´t think it´s corret but still I respect it, you´re entitled to it and yes, we will have to agree to disagree! Cheers Celeste!

        2. That reply was for @karter22

    4. for me @karter22 ‘s comment is the comment of this year and all of last year also… Getting tired of the debate so it’s nice when someone nails the issue!

      P.S
      Noone is saying he’s bad, please don’t make it sound like we did…

      1. @dr-jekyll
        Thanks man! It does get old after a while but it needs to be said from time to time!

    5. Ferrari have bigger pockets. Webber drives a Red Bull and has only been as high as 3rd in the WDC. Alonso has submissive Massa give him points. Respect does not win you championships. The best teams get the best drivers and designers. Hamilton started his career in the best team, Vettel started as a fill in driver then went to a midfield team. So guess who has dirtier fingernails.

      1. LOL, Ferrari do not have bigger pockets than Red Bull. I’m pretty sure that the budget is about equal. Webber has never been a top driver and is far past his prime, so him only finishing 3rd in 2010-2011 is not the least bit surprising.

        1. Ferrari budget 2011 http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-ferrari-budget-biggest-in-formula-one-report/ . Can’t say what last years budget was but they are desperately trying to win. They also got more prize money than Red Bull in 2012. Unless you are talking about the parent companies which has nothing to do with the team budgets.

      2. @yappy

        Webber drives a Red Bull and has only been as high as 3rd in the WDC

        Of course that´s the highest he´ll ever be. He´s the sidekick at the SV show! XD

        Alonso has submissive Massa give him points

        I´m assuming this is a stab at Hockenheim and Austin. News flash: This is what professional team players that actually respect the team and the orders handed to them do for a living! Sure it is not nice to see and it must sting like a b***h having to accept or even comply but it shows much more spine when they actually comply! What Rosberg did in Malaysya for me was a real pain to watch but I have much more respect for “Britney” now than I ever did, a true team player!

    6. Yep, WDC titles do not bring respect by any means. And if you consider the way he won them….geez. At the last race by taking 3 poles and 3 wins in last 4 races in 2010 being 22 years old, cannot respect that.
      And in 2011 he was so mediocre, the car brought him into 11 wins and 16 poles. The car was so good that if you penalize him by taking away 25 percent of his points for having a car advantage he still wins. Certainly no respect for that.
      2012 was the ugliest. Equal cars more or less for everybody and he still wins at the last race with a damaged car lapping 1,6 sec faster than a leader in damp conditions on slicks, collecting a feat only Ayrton Senna and Jim Clark had done. What was it? Ah, 3 wins in 3 races, 3 poles, all laps lead. No sane person in the world who knows something about F1 could respect that.
      @karter22 is absolutely on the spot. But I cannot respect that

      1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        19th April 2013, 16:27

        @gilles well said. We Vettel fans are so deceived hahaha ,

        some people don’t see the races, they prefer to see what they want to see. When Alonso won last week, I gave him DOTW, why should I deny it? But I guess Vettel never got DOTW from some users with “respectful” opinions

        1. @omarr-pepper
          I have given DOTW to others and not only Alonso but dfinitely not SV since I feel that he always walks in with an M-16 into a knife fight! XD

          1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
            19th April 2013, 20:03

            @karter22 Shall I laugh now?

  8. Well, Sergio, you wanted the drive in a top team, spoke often about how ready you were for the challenge & on several occasions reinforced a point that many of us already knew to be true: when at a top team like McLaren, you are expected to perform near or at the front of the grid.

    Obviously the car isn’t the best, but you’re being outqualified handilly by Jenson (who’s not known to be a great qualifier) and placed outside the points in China when Jenson was busy fighting with Red Bulls & at one point lead the race. Basically, I’m amazed that you’re amazed at the criticism you’re receiving. Welcome to the big leagues!

    1. Exactly.

    2. Give the kid a break! It is not as if he has years of experience in a top team.

      I think we should reserve judgement on Perez till Barcelona. That is when the Mclaren upgrades will surely make the car faster and he will have had enough time to acclimatize to the car and team.
      But after Barcelona too, if his performances are like what they are now, then surely there is a problem with this kid.

      1. I think people are more frustrated (especially McLaren fan’s) with McLaren/shareholders strategy with regards to driver line up, rather than a particular driver.

        1. As a McLaren fan, I can agree with this statement. McLaren ended 2012 as the team to beat, the fastest car and two of the top drivers. They replaced the strongest driver that season by someone who is only good at the best of times, which is usually when he qualifies poorly. I felt right from the start Hulkenberg would have been a far better option, and I’ve feared ever since the announcement of the change of drivers that this could mark the slow demise of McLaren, but that might just be me being paranoid.

      2. JimmyTheIllustratedBlindSolidSilverBeachStackapopolis III
        19th April 2013, 5:25

        Imagine if they were on bridgestones again i think things would look alot lot worse right now and not just for the lack of strategy that button is disapointed about this weekend. I think jenson would show him what real race pace is.

    3. Man, being an F1 driver is a great job!
      Man, being an F1 driver kicks your ass!
      Yes, it can be both. Sometimes at the same time (ask Vettel). Perez got the job he wanted and now it is kicking his ass. His reasons for not going well so far this season are legit. New to the team, unfamiliar car, underperforming car, he’s not Lewis Hamilton. All good reasons. But, soon the newness wears off and expectations matter more than excuses. Given time, I think Perez will prove out as a pretty good driver. Maybe not top shelf, maybe not as good as Button, but he will need to challenge Button at some races this season. We shall see…

    4. Nicely put…

  9. Well done Keith for highlighting the controversy around this GP. As a life long F1 fan I wonder whether to boycott this one on TV.

  10. Well, considering that the guy Checo’s replacing was probably the most explosive debutante ever does make his life more difficult. I really wished he would be a Lewis or a Kimi. To see someone generate the amount of excitement those 2 did with their McLaren debut. Sadly so far, he seems more in the mold of Heikki. Still very early days, hope he turns it around. The team needs some boost after losing Lewis and Paddy in quick succession.

    1. Comment with punctuation and coherence!
      Well, considering that the guy Checo’s replacing was probably the ‘most-explosive-debutante-ever’ does make his life more difficult. I really wished he would be a Lewis or a Kimi. To see someone generate the amount of excitement those two did with their McLaren debut, would be nice. Sadly, so far, he seems more in the mold of Heikki. Still very early days, hope he turns it around. The team needs some boost after losing Lewis and Paddy in quick succession.

  11. Fikri Harish (@)
    19th April 2013, 8:28

    How many 10 year-old girls actually dreamt of becoming an F1 driver?
    You want to have women racing in F1? Then start by actually increasing the appeal of racing to women. We already have people like Danica Patrick and Michele Mouton to prove that professional racing is a viable career option for women.
    It’s not about women not having the capacity to be competitive in F1, it’s about them not wanting to race in F1.

    Motorsport is unique in that it has no gender discrimination whatsoever (is there actually a female-specific racing series?). I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing or not, but I always thought that it was one of the main reason F1 isn’t appealing to women.

  12. As was just pointed out on Sky, Perez wasn’t saying the criticism on his performance was unfair, He was saying the criticism from Martin Whitmarsh about ‘getting his elbows out when racing’ was unfair because in China he was been told by the team not to race other drivers in order to save the tyres.

    In that point, Anthony Davidson felt Perez was right because he said its impossible to push & fight hard trying to fend off other cars while at the same time saving the tyres.

    1. Thanks for that additional information

  13. This was innevitable…he’s punching above his weight in an “average” car…

    Do you question why McLaren brought in a driver that Ferrari wouldnt promote? I dont know.

    F1 has to be one of if not the most competitve sports on the planet and McLaren are the second most successful team in that sport who expect the best from whoever they place behind the wheel…whether they are up to it or not.

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