Sauber deny Sergio Perez links with Ferrari – Formula 1 news
Formula 1 team Sauber have denied that their driver Sergio Perez is in talks with Ferrari.
The young talented driver test drove for Ferrari on September 13, 2011 which caused a plethora of speculation that Perez might be driving for Ferrari soon.
This caused Sauber to quickly deny any such news and gave a statement that Perez will not be testing for Ferrari again in the near future.
The Mexican tested a 2009 Ferrari at Fiorano between the Italian and Singapore Grands Prix. He was added to Ferrari Drivers’ Academy system in the ongoing 2011 season. Sauber chief came forward to speak about Perez’s situation and said that it should not be drawn into comparisons with Felipe Massa, who was also testing for Ferrari while he was with Sauber in his initial seasons.
Monisha Kaltenborn who is Sauber’s Managing director said that it was “an integrated part of the [FDA] activities, so we knew at some point it would come up.”
“There are no further arrangements regarding that. As we understand it, there is one test. The programme is not developed with us. We make sure that none of these activities conflict with any of our activities, and Ferrari respects that. We found a time when we could do his test and that's it,” she said.
She also mentioned that Perez is only part of Ferrari’s Drivers’ Academy which is meant for drivers who can go into Formula 1, and because he is already a part of Formula 1, that needs to be put into perspective.
Perez has been driving really well with Sauber. He finished 11th in Valencia for the European Grand prix. He had a gearbox failure in Italy but managed to score a point in Singapore. He had seventh place finish at the Silverstone circuit which was his best result in Formula 1 to date.
He was also applauded at the way he raced and outpaced his Sauber compatriot Kamui Kobayashi who is another very skilled driver. Perez is currently 16th in the 2011 Formula 1 drivers’ championship.
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