Tag: Sergio Perez

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Formula 1

2015 Force India VJM08 revealed

2015 Force India VJM08

Ugly anteater noses begone!

The first full reveal of a 2015 Formula 1 car has been and gone thanks to Force India. As you can see the laughable nose of the VJM07 has been scrapped and the VJM08 looks altogether more stylish.

Part of that, of course, is due to the new silver and black livery, which, oddly enough, gives the best hint yet that McLaren will be having a red and white scheme in 2015.

Force India retains its 2014 driver lineup of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg. The team will run its 2014 car at the first test in Jerez (1–4 February), delaying the track debut of the VJM08 until the second round of testing, to be held in Barcelona (19–22 February).

A light and fluffy press release and more images are available after the break. More detail is available in the team’s 2015 press pack which can be downloaded below.

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Caterham Formula 1 McLaren Mercedes-Benz Video

2014 Hungarian GP four-car quali comparison

2014 Hunagrian Grand Prix qualifying

If you’re missing Formula 1 action during the off season here’s video from the Hungarian Grand Prix that will allow you to cram in four times the action in one go.

Starting from top right and moving in a clockwise direction we’ve got Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Sergio Perez and Marcus Ericsson. The footage was filmed during qualifying and it’s no surprise to see who was fastest.

[via WTF1]

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Caterham F1 in pictures Ferrari Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Toro Rosso

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix in pictures

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix

It took almost 58 years for Mercedes to repeat its 1-2 podium result from 1955. And after doing so in Malaysia last week it took just seven days to do it all over again in Bahrain, a world away from the era Juan Manuel Fangio once ruled.

Lewis Hamilton collected his second win on the bounce and it seems the only thing that can stop the two Mercedes AMG drivers will be each other. If they keep up that spectacular on track dicing it won’t be too long until the pair come to blows.

After the break you can relive the first night time race in Bahrain and the 900th grand prix of the modern era.

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

2014 Bahrain GP: Post-race press conference

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix

The post-race press conference from the Bahrain Grand Prix features questions mostly aimed at race winner Lewis Hamilton and his teammate Nico Rosberg. As you might expect many of the questions concentrate on their close racing. We would have loved it, though, if someone asked: “Your relationship seems close and friendly now, but if you keep wheel-to-wheel racing like that what happens if, or when, you guys make contact, how will that affect your relationship?”

Meanwhile, with perhaps another lap or two Daniel Ricciardo may have been able to get his Red Bull onto the podium. Instead we’ll have to make do with his comments from the team’s press release.

“It was an awesome race; it was exciting,” Daniel said. “I think the first stint was a bit follow-the-leader, but from the second stint onwards, the race really started to turn up the heat and there were more battles going on in front and behind—it was good to be a part of them.

“We got close to the podium today, I think within half a second, so I was doing all I could. The car came to me as the race went on and I was happy with how I moved up through the pack, so a good day.

“It was good fun to race Sebastian, it was hard but fair and we left each other room. That’s what we want from each other and we discussed it beforehand, we’re racers and that’s what we enjoy doing.”

It’s also worth hearing Sebastian’s words, given he was overtaken for position by his younger and more inexperienced teammate.

“Daniel proved that there was a little bit more to get from the car today,” Vettel explained. “I couldn’t really get to that bit, so I’m not so happy with my day.

“It was straight forward with Daniel today, we worked well together as a team and we raced well, but surely I would like to have finished higher up.”

The transcript of the post-race press conference featuring the first three drivers is available in full after the break.

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 Bahrain GP

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has edged out his teammate Nico Rosberg to win the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix and the pair delighted fans all around the world in doing so.

The quality of racing throughout the field all race was first class, with most scraps taking place behind the leading Mercedes drivers. The men in the silver arrows must have felt obliged to bring some spice to the front of the field and they gave us some brilliant wheel-to-wheel racing.

After Pastor Maldonado exited the pits following his final pit stop he decided he didn’t need to worry about too much about the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez ahead in Turn 1 and just speared into him, flipping the young Mexican who eventually landed back on his wheels and escaped serious injury.

The wash up from that incident was the obligatory penalties for Maldonado and a Safety Car which bunched up the field and was released with 10 laps to race.

Quickly speeding off into the distance was leader Hamilton with Rosberg hot on his heels. The pair pitted just as the Safety Car came out and Rosberg was on the grippier and theoretically faster Soft tyres. We were set for a grandstand sprint finish and that’s exactly what we got.

Out front the Mercedes pair diced for the lead with millimetres separating cheers from tears. It was great to watch and afterwards Hamilton and Rosberg appeared good humoured and shared a few laughs. One thing is certain, though, if they keep racing that closely there will be contact and we could have a repeat of Turkey 2010 on our hands.

The raw pace of the Mercedes AMG F1 W05 was brutally exposed when you consider the winning margin was 24 seconds from the race winner to P3. That’s not to say the racing behind was boring, though, far from it!

Sergio Perez emerged as the best of the rest in what is just Force India’s second ever podium result. Yet the man who will attract more headlines is Daniel Ricciardo who finished fourth after starting back in P13. In doing so he established once again that he is not afraid of his four-time world champion teammate and fought his way past Vettel on track as he edged his way through the field.

Nico Hulkenberg picked up more good points for Force India and split the Red Bulls, with Vettel finishing sixth.

The Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas finished in P7 and P8 respectively. The latter may have expected more after starting from P3. The top 10 was rounded out by the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen.

With the Mercedes power unit being the clear stand out so far this season McLaren will be bitterly disappointed to have endured a double retirement. Kevin Magnussen pulled off track on lap 40 and Jenson Button returned to the pits with just a couple of laps to go.

All in all it was a very exciting race and if there is a coming to blows at some stage between Hamilton and Rosberg this season could get very tasty indeed! Equally, the RB10 is a very strong chassis and if Renault can find some power then Mercedes could have a fight outside of its own garage.

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Formula 1

F1 winter testing: Bahrain II day 1

Sergio Perez, Force India VJM07

Just like last week a Force India VJM07 has topped the timesheets on the opening day of testing in Bahrain. This time it was Sergio Perez (1:35.290) who went fastest, managing a healthy 105 laps as well.

“We really needed a good day to start this week and today we had it,” Perez said. “We managed to do a lot of laps, try several different compounds and mappings, and it’s been a fantastic day in terms of learning about the car.

“Tomorrow is my last day in the car before the season starts so hopefully we can have another solid day to be in good shape for Melbourne.”

It’s often said you can never read too much into pre-season form, but after nine days of testing the form line is pretty clear. Mercedes power is best, followed by Ferrari and you’re in strife if you have a Renault V6 power unit.

Reliability is clearly going to be an issue this year and Perez aside most teams came away from testing overnight with a few grumbles.

Valtteri Bottas (1:36.184) went second quickest in the Mercedes-powered Williams FW36, with Kimi Raikkonen (1:36.432) a couple of tenths behind in the Ferrari.

All Mercedes-powered cars completed at least 89 laps, with Bottas racking up 128, more than anyone else. Adrian Sutil covered the most miles in a Ferrari-powered car, doing 89 laps in the Sauber C33; even Max Chilton in the hitherto troublesome Marussia MR03 managed 44 laps.

An upbeat Daniel Ricciardo (1:37.908) was the fastest of the Renault-powered runners, but was only seventh best on the day. He was able to finish 39 laps, although exhaust problems interrupted his afternoon session which consisted of only seven laps.

“Behind the wheel, that’s the best I’ve felt so far,” Daniel said. “The package seems to be coming together better. We still had a few issues today, but at least when the car was on track it was much more useful running and we made progress in the morning.

“It’s getting there. I’d love to keep going, but at least Seb has two days after me in the car, so I think we’ll be looking pretty good for the next three days.”

The slowest three cars on the day were the Renault-powered cars of Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso), Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) and Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham).

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Formula 1

2014 Force India VJM07 revealed

2014 Force India VJM07

Force India has given its 2014 F1 car, the VJM07, its first public showing prior to taking to the track at Jerez tonight. The VJM07 was one of the first F1 cars we saw for the year and at the time the full horror of the front nose designs was yet to be revealed. And that is certainly the case for the Force India challenger.

As they say, once you go black, you can’t go back. And while the official Force India pics don’t yet show the full scale of its front nose we’ve added another pic below to show you what is actually quite a comical solution.

You have to laugh, really. There’s not much else you can do.

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Formula 1

Formula 1’s lucky numbers

2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

As the new F1 season draws near we can start getting all excited about the numbers the drivers will choose in this new era of permanent numbers.

Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen wants number 7 apparently. But so does Jules Bianchi. A bitch fight to settle it perhaps?

Other numbers nominated to date include:

  • Fernando Alonso (14)
  • Valtteri Bottas (77)
  • Jenson Button (22)
  • Romain Grosjean (8)
  • Kevin Magnussen (20)
  • Felipe Massa (19)
  • Sergio Perez (11)
  • Nico Rosberg (6)
  • Jean-Eric Vergne (25)

It’s not known yet if Daniel Ricciardo has selected a preference. Do you think he will stick with the number 19 he raced with in 2013 or choose something new?

We wonder, if our Mark was still in F1 if he would choose number 2, just for a laugh?

[Source: Planet F1 | Pic: Toro Rosso/Getty Images]

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Formula 1

Sergio Perez joins Force India for 2014 and beyond

Sergio Perez and Vijay Mallya

Force India has confirmed the signing of former McLaren driver Sergio Perez on the now seemingly ubiquitous “multi-year deal”. Checo will join Force India’s other new signing Nico Hulkenberg.

Today’s news leaves both of Force India’s drivers from 2013, Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil, looking for work.

Perez has already worked out it’s nice to play up to his new boss Vijay Mallya. “It’s great to announce my new team as Sahara Force India,” he said. “Coming here was always my first choice and I’m really happy everything has now been confirmed.

“I want to say thank you to Vijay and the whole team for giving me the opportunity. This is a young team with a lot of determination and they’ve produced competitive cars for the last few years. It’s all change for next season with the new regulations, but I already have a good feeling about 2014.”

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Formula 1 McLaren

Sergio Perez confirms McLaren departure

Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez has released a dignified statement confirming he will leave McLaren at the end of the 2013 Formula 1 season:

Sergio Perez says goodbye to McLaren

First of all, I would like to thank McLaren for giving me the opportunity to be with them this season. It has been an honour for me to have been in one of the most competitive teams in the sport and I do not regret even a bit having joined them. I have always given the best of me for the team and still despite this I could not achieve what I aimed for in this historic team.

I am committed to delivering very good results in these last two races, especially in Austin. I am so much looking forward to see all my people gathered together, feel their energy and show them the best of me. I would like to say to every single one of my fans around the world and in my country that I am eternally grateful to them. They have never let me down, especially in difficult moments like these. I truly appreciate their support, they have never forgotten me.

I have met a lot of new people at McLaren and I have made many good friends as well. From the top management level to the marketing, accounting and engineering departments to the mechancics, the cooks, the catering people and basically everyone on the team, I am eternally grateful to them. It has been a learning experience to me.

I would like to wish the team the very best in the future. I will always be a fan of McLaren. In the meanwhile I will be looking at my future to ensure my position in the best possible package to fight for wins.

Thanks to McLaren and all of its partners for this season, you can rest assured that I will never give up.

It’s a harsh business F1 and despite results not matching expectations, for driver or team, it would seem as though Perez has not been given enough time to prove himself at McLaren.

Perez’s announcement paves the way for McLaren to officially announce 21-year-old Danish driver Kevin Magnussen as the driver who will race alongside Jenson Button in 2014. Expect that confirmation to come after this weekend’s race in Austin.

[Source: sergioperez.mx | Pic: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes]

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Formula 1 McLaren

Sergio says: McLaren has struggled with reality

2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Reports suggesting McLaren will replace Sergio Perez with Kevin Magnussen are gathering momentum, with expectations an official announcement will follow after this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.

That’s given Perez the unwanted freedom to comment on what he calls “probably the worst season in history” for McLaren. While Perez is one of only three drivers to finish every race so far this year, along with teammate Jenson Button and Marussia’s Max Chilton, the 23-year-old Mexican can only count the modest return of fifth place at the Indian Grand Prix as his best result.

He currently has 35 world championship points; a long way off the 66 points and three podiums he recorded last year with Sauber.

“I’m very disappointed,” he told Brazil’s Totalrace. “I think when your goals are much higher than your results, you get disappointed. And that goes for both sides.”

Figuring he has the talent to do better, Perez is placing the blame for his poor results squarely at McLaren.

“It’s a great team, I have no doubt of it, with a very capable crew, but I think it lacked organisation and a little bit of humility to face the reality,” he said. “During the season, being a great team, McLaren took a long time to recognise the reality of where we were, which was scoring points on a good weekend, and not winning races.”

Facing the prospect of an off-season looking for a drive Perez doesn’t have too many options, with Force India perhaps being his best bet. Although, Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil might have something to say about that.

[Source: Motorsport.com | Pic: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes]

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Formula 1 McLaren

McLaren set to ditch Perez for Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen

The Formula 1 silly season is in full swing with word McLaren will replace Sergio Perez with reserve driver Kevin Magnussen, who first tested with the team at Abu Dhabi in 2012.

Magnussen has just collected the Formula Renault 3.5 title and looks set to follow the path of Robert Kubica and Giedo van der Garde as former champions who have made the progression to Formula 1. The 21-year-old Dane would also follow the path of his father, Jan, who made his F1 debut in a one-off race with McLaren in 1995 and also drove for Stewart in 1997 and 1998.

Officially, the word from McLaren Team Principal, Martin Whitmarsh, is: “The fact is at the moment we haven’t confirmed our driver line-up, we haven’t signed contracts with drivers.” But Autosport reports a deal with Magnussen has been agreed and awaits official sign-off.

It’s worth noting, British driver, Oliver Gavin, who races with Jan Magnussen at Corvette Racing in the American Le Mans Series has sent his congratulations to his teammate via twitter:

A lack of consistency is understood to be behind the decision to release 23-year-old Sergio Perez, who joins Pastor Maldonado as another current driver looking for work in 2014. With Nico Hulkenberg still the favourite to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus, there’s not much on offer if you don’t have seat secured in 2014.

[Source: Autosport]