Sergio Perez believes there is a lot of potential in his new teammate Lance Stroll and is sure Racing Point will help him unlock it.
The young Canadian is still something of an unknown quantity in Formula 1 having shown signs of improvement towards the end of his rookie season in 2017 but was unable to continue that progression because of Williams’ poor car this year.
That means his move to the formerly named Force India team is largely considered another example of entitlement by many after his Lance’s father Lawrence Stroll bought the squad this past summer.
“I don’t know him much as a driver,” admitted Perez. “In F1, it’s so difficult to prepare, to know a driver from another team.
“95% of your results is done by the car and he’s certainly had a poor season down to his car. I think Williams had a lot of trouble.
“But the kid definitely has talent,” the Mexican claimed. “He’s been on the podium, when it’s wet he’s always up there, and I think he’s coming to a great team with some of the best engineers in the world.
“I think he will be in great hands to deliver his full potential.”
In recent years, it has been Perez with the greater political influence at Racing Point with his sponsorship critical to keeping the team afloat but, perhaps predictably, there are claims that Stroll could be favoured given his father is the team owner.
“It’s in the interests of everyone, including the team owners that this team is a successful team,” the eight-time podium sitter stated.
“The investment that they’ve done, it’s successful, so for that we need both cars as strong as possible. We both have to work very hard and we both have to work together to bring the team forward.
“It’s in the interests of everyone. We are a team now and we just have to work like that.”
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With a healthy back balance now behind the Silverstone-based outfit ambitions are high at Racing Point, but Perez does concede progress won’t be immediate.
“I’m extremely excited. I’ve been chatting with the whole team, from mechanics to engineers to catering, everyone is really excited, really looking forward,” he said.
“Lawrence is very enthusiastic about this project, he knows that it’s a long-term project, and I think we have great direction with our team bosses. Everything should be in place just to expand.
“But also we have to be aware that it takes time. You’ve seen it with other teams, you know how long it takes them. But I think if there’s a team that can go to the next step, it is Force India.”