Sergio Perez joins McLaren as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement for 2013 – Formula 1 news
Sauber driver Sergio Perez has signed a multi-year contract with McLaren and will replace Lewis Hamilton from 2013 onwards.
Hamilton has recently confirmed that he is going to leave the Woking based team at the end of this year and will move to Mercedes as Michael Schumacher’s replacement in the next season. Meanwhile, Perez has joined the British squad and will race as Jenson
Button’s teammate from the coming year.
The Mexican driver has said that he is extremely excited to become a part of the British team which has a great history in the world of F1. Moreover, he said that he is feeling honoured that McLaren have chosen him as its race driver.
“I'm thrilled and delighted to have become a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver,” Perez said. “The McLaren name is one of the greatest in the history of Formula 1. For more than 40 years McLaren has been a team that 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 - and I'm truly honoured that they've chosen me to partner Jenson from 2013 onwards.”
It will be important to mention that he has been seen as a potential replacement of Felipe Massa of Ferrari after he secured an incredible second podium finish in the Malaysian Grand Prix. However, the president of the Scarlet team, Luca di Montezemolo said
that Perez is too young to join their team.
Nonetheless, he has proven that he is capable of driving in a big team and has expressed his gratitude towards the team principal of McLaren, Martin Whitmarsh for giving him the opportunity.
Besides, he said that he has tried to deliver his best in the current season so as to prove his potential and has remained focussed.
“I've spent the 2012 season working very hard to demonstrate my potential, but I've always remained humble and focused,” he added.
Presently, he is standing at 9th place in the drivers’ championship with 66 points. Additionally, he is ahead of Massa and is behind Romain Grosjean of Lotus. Let’s see how he performs in the remainder of the season.
Tags: