That call became a big talking point when McLaren swooped after Lewis
Hamilton defected to Mercedes.
Some believe that Fernando Alonso was afraid to have Pérez alongside him at
Ferrari. Others insist that Pérez is no better than a handful of other
drivers to have progressed through the junior formulas, the difference being
that he is backed by Mexican telecommunications giant Telmex. They argue
that his eye-catching drives for Sauber last year can be explained away by
the simple fact that he started outside the top 10, and was therefore on a
different tyre strategy to the cars in front of him.
What is clear is that Pérez is a raw talent who still has plenty to do to
convince his doubters, particularly in the area of qualifying, which is also
deemed to be Button’s Achilles heel. Having lost arguably the quickest
one-lap driver in Formula One in Hamilton, some McLaren fans fear the new
partnership will struggle to make the front row regularly.
Time will tell. For now, Pérez is saying all the right things. He looks the
part too. Noticeably trimmer than he was in Sao Paulo at the final race of
last term, he revealed he had spent the winter pumping iron and hitting the
treadmill at boot camps in Mexico and Finland. “I think in my short career
in F1 it is the best I have ever been on the fitness side,” said the
Guadalajara-born, whose English was honed during a three-year spell living
in Oxford when he was competing in F3 and GP2. “I remember Britain’s Got
Talent – it’s a great programme.”
The Mexican, a close friend of Manchester United striker Javier Hernández, is
clearly not a man who lacks in confidence, and says he is determined not to
waste the chance he has been given at “the best team in F1”. “I remember at
my very first press conference everyone asked me what it felt like to be a
pay driver,” he said of the suggestion that Carlos Slim’s billions had got
him to where he is. “It made me angry at the beginning as people didn’t
realise what I had sacrificed. I had to leave my family when I was 15 to
live above a restaurant in Germany. But I think I showed from my very first
race in F1 that I was not a pay driver. Finally I am here and I’m looking
forward to success with this team.”
And the new car? “I think it’s looking good. But the McLaren always looks
good, no? I love the colours of the car.” Not enough to order his own
McLaren Spider in silver.
Pérez opted for red. He still has some convincing to do that he is the right
man for McLaren.