Sergio Perez admits he was positively surprised by what Lance Stroll could bring to Racing Point based on pre-season testing.
2019 is seen as a big year for the Canadian, who replaced Esteban Ocon as a result of his father buying the former Force India outfit last summer.
And having struggled for results at Williams, particularly last year, the 20-year-old does remain somewhat of an unknown quantity.
“The thing that people forget is if they see you last in Formula 1 they think you’re really bad but 95 percent [of the performance] is the car,” Perez claimed. “So it’s very hard to judge somebody with a bad car.
“I’ve been surprised by his level, his speed, but the thing that surprised me the most, to be honest, is his feedback. You don’t get to see that with the young drivers,” he noted.
“These days they are very well prepared, but just due [to the lack of] experience, you see all them giving feedback and you say ‘ah, they’re lacking a bit of knowledge in the car’, but with him, I’ve been quite surprised.
“I think he can guide the team quite nicely.”
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Despite that, Perez remains fiercely determined to come out on top against another young up and comer on the grid.
“I am here to do my best job. I beat all the teammates I’ve been with, so I want to do the same with Lance,” said the Mexican.
“It’s my obligation to do this. If I were not to do this, believe me, I wouldn’t be here. I am here for the motivation, I am here to deliver and if I don’t have this approach, I better stay home.”
