Lance Stroll is excited to have Sergio Perez sign a new three-year deal to stay at Racing Point.
The Mexican confirmed what is the longest extension of any contract he has had in Formula 1 back in Belgium and will have completed nine seasons with the Silverstone-based team when it expires after 2022.
For Stroll, Perez’s continuation also gives him a constant barometer to measure his own progress as he tries to establish himself as a top driver for the future.
“He’s a very good driver and he’s scored a lot of points for the team over the years, so that’s positive going forward,” the Canadian said.
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“He’s a driver that capitalises on opportunities, he’s been on the podium eight times, it’s always good to have someone that’s really on top of their game next to you and he’s that guy.
“He pushes me 100% and that makes me stronger because in order to be competitive I have to bring my A-game as much as I can, that makes it fun.
“That’s what competition and sport is all about, it’s having that competitive spirit, that healthy relationship within the team, we have that.”
Perez’s long association with the team is another positive as Racing Point looks to use the upcoming regulation changes in 2021 to challenge the dominance of the top three.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s all about the future for us and in many ways, the start of this season hasn’t been as good as we hoped to be, but the future is very exciting,” Stroll continued.
“We’ve started to see some gains and we want to keep making progress as the team develops.”
As for this season, recent top-seven finishes in both Spa and Monza have catapulted Perez ahead of Stroll in the Drivers’ standings, with Racing Point currently seventh in the Constructors’.
A final big upgrade is coming for the next race in Singapore, however, and Lance believes it can launch them to the front of the midfield for the final run to Abu Dhabi.
“Absolutely. It’s going to be a little bit track dependent, but we’ve seen on a couple of occasions we’ve been able to be the fourth quickest car on some of the faster circuits, so that’s definitely the goal,” he concluded.