It was an intriguing statement in the wake of comments from Ferrari president
Luca di Montezemolo to the effect that Perez was still too inexperienced to
replace the struggling Felipe Massa at Maranello.
Montezemolo may yet live to rue allowing Perez to slip through his fingers.
The attraction of Perez, apart from his ability behind the wheel, is his
relationship with Telmex and its chairman and CEO Carlos Slim, the world’s
richest man. The telecommunications giant would be a welcome addition to the
McLaren stable should Vodafone decide not to renew its title sponsorship
deal, as has been rumoured.
How Perez will work alongside Jenson Button remains to be seen. The 2009 world
champion said in Singapore last weekend that he wanted a “quick and
experienced” driver alongside him in the event that Hamilton left.
“Two people who have experience are better than one because there will be days
when you go in a direction when your set-up doesn’t work and his does,”
Button explained. “That works for both so you definitely want someone with
experience. You don’t want a newcomer stepping into the car next year.”
However, asked if Montezemelo might therefore be right about Perez, Button
appeared to row back on his comments.
“He might be but I think he [Perez] is a quick learner,” he said. “A guy who
can look after his tyres as well as he does is not stupid. He learns well.
“I don’t know what he is like setting up a car but he can’t be bad if he is
doing as well he is. But maybe if you had an experienced driver in the car
it would be even quicker. Who knows?”