Sergio Pérez responds to criticism
Many criticisms have been directed at Sergio Pérez during the recent races. His aggressive driving is particularly being questioned, but the Mexican driver justifies himself by explaining that his signing with McLaren for the next season has not changed his approach to racing.
Since Sergio Pérez and McLaren announced their collaboration for the 2013 season, the Mexican driver has been at the center of criticism, mainly concerning his behavior during races.
Indeed, since the announcement of his transfer to McLaren was made official, Pérez has not scored a single point in a race and has been involved in several incidents during Grand Prix weekends, with a collision with Charles Pic being the latest obstacle during the practice sessions of the recent race in Austin.
The Sauber driver tries to justify himself to our colleagues at Autosport by explaining that there will always be doubts about his ability to make McLaren win until he proves his talent behind the wheel of a silver arrow: « Even if I win the last races, there will always be questions. I will join the best team next year, and there will always be questions about me until I have driven the car. But that doesn’t bother me. »
However, Pérez insists that his goal for the season has not changed, even after signing with McLaren: « My main goal is to give 100% here, at every lap, every opportunity I have to drive for Sauber, and I will continue to do that. »
The young Mexican has often been criticized in recent races for his somewhat overly aggressive driving. But he believes he has not changed his approach: « There have been some ups and downs, but for example, I spoke to Charlie Whiting after my race in Abu Dhabi and he told me he didn’t think I was responsible for the accident during the race [Pérez was sanctioned after a collision with Paul di Resta, ed.]. If the opportunity arises again, I would do exactly the same thing because it was the right thing to try to overtake Di Resta. Otherwise, I would have stayed behind him the whole race. »
Despite everything, the Sauber driver partially admits to having made a mistake in Japan by attempting to overtake Lewis Hamilton: « Maybe I made a mistake when I tried to overtake Hamilton [in Japan, ed.], but I think in some races, I put the car in a much better position than we thought. I feel like I’m doing a good job, but for some reason, we’re unable to get the final result. I’m happy though, and I will keep giving 100% for the team. It would be unfair to my team to sign a contract elsewhere and not continue to push until the final lap of the season. »
