Sergio Pérez feels Lance Stroll has what it takes to deliver to his full potential now the Canadian has made the switch to the Racing Point F1 Team for the 2019 Formula 1 season.
Stroll has joined the Silverstone-based outfit after two seasons with Williams Martini Racing, with the move having been completed after the consortium led by his father, Lawrence Stroll, bought out the team midway through the 2018 season.
Pérez remains with the outfit, formerly known as the Sahara Force India F1 Team, for a sixth consecutive season and has scored five podium finishes in that time, the last of which came in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last year, ten months after his new team-mate had scored a podium of his own at the same venue.
“I don’t know him much as a driver,” admitted Pérez of Stroll. “In Formula 1, it’s so difficult to prepare, to know a driver from another team. 95 percent of your results is done by the car.
“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. 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 one of the best engineers in the world.
“I think he will be in great hands to deliver his full potential.”
Pérez says there is a lot of excitement within the team now that their future has been secured, and he foresees positive times ahead for a team that has shown itself capable of causing the odd upset across the last few years on a tight budget, something that will not be such an issue now it is under the leadership of the Stroll-consortium.
“I’m extremely excited,” admitted the Mexican. “I’ve been chatting with the whole team, from mechanics to engineers to catering, everyone is really excited, really looking forward.
“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.
“It’s in the interests of everyone, including the team owners that this team is a successful team. 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, we both have to work together to bring the team as forward as possible. It’s in the interests of everyone. We are a team now and we just have to work like that.”
