Sergio Perez' form: Driver, Engineer, or, Engine?

[chunterer]

Ok perhaps an inevitable discussion to have considering the Mexican's start to the season.

Is his meteoric form all down to talent, a good engineer or has the team got a special development deal with Neil Brown??

Whatever the case he started the season as NOT one of the favourites and has so far been a revelation.

Can his form continue, after all he's won on a twisty track from way back at The Rock and now a streamlining circuit (Monza) also from way back?

Discuss.....

[OJB]

Very possibly a combination of all three. I'm not surprised Perez is up there with regards to driver ability - he walked the National Class last year and he really does seem to have plenty of raw racing talent.

My big surprise is the strength of the Mugen-Honda, which I thought was a dead duck in terms of F3 engines in Europe!! Logically, I suppose Gonzalez's form last year may have transformed T-Sport into a bit of a halo team for Mugen to concentrate on and maybe give a bit of a boost.

Either way, Perez is leading the British Championship in an unfancied team and with an unfancied car. Couple that to the fact he isn't short of backing from Telmex and you have to say he has a very bright future ahead - provided he can keep it all up now!

[Alex K]

OJB, he has some backing difficulties, don't look at his backer, he had tough times getting budget. But, I hope his backers will raise their funding now.

[kerrmanningjarv]

I wouldn't say he has had a tough time getting a budget, as he does have the gigantic Telmex sponsoring him...

I would say that his form this season is mostly down to driver ability (no offence to the team, who have obviously done a great job) - you don't come from 14th to 1st twice at Monza if you're not a great driver. His form in the NC last year was great and he has A1GP experience too - so I mainly thing it has been the driver.

[Russfeld]

You come from 14th to 1st when qualifying is literally a wash out and the grid is almost drawn out of a hat. It's not accurate to say the 14th quickest car was able to win.

Personally, and I know we say this nearly every year now, but it's hardly the most stellar grid. I mean jesus, we've had Chilton and Grubmuller qualifying in the first two rows.

[Alex K]

If he had mighty Telmex, why didn't he sign to Carlin or Double R? Was one place left at Hitech?

[Lam Pak]

is perez on japan mugen engines or the made in england hondas?

[META4]

Neil Brown Honda Engine i guess


Japanese Honda Engine does not make any Spark this season in Japanese Formula 3

Good to mention as well that Ombra Racing is also using Honda Engine (Pole Position at Monza)

[dave not neil]

Originally Posted by kerrmanningjarv

I wouldn't say he has had a tough time getting a budget, as he does have the gigantic Telmex sponsoring him...

I would say that his form this season is mostly down to driver ability (no offence to the team, who have obviously done a great job) - you don't come from 14th to 1st twice at Monza if you're not a great driver. His form in the NC last year was great and he has A1GP experience too - so I mainly thing it has been the driver.

Just because Telmex back him, doesnt meen they have given him a top budget.

I would say he is with one of the better teams in the paddock as well. T Sport is a good, close knit team, with some top guys working for them. And a lot can be said for having a good team atmosphere and spirit. It helps boost a driver so much. And the fact he managed to wipe the floor with Frankie Cheng last year (an ex mclaren development driver) shows he has the talent.

[Alex K]

Plus, when you speak to NBE guys they never moan, at least I never felt they've moaned. They kept their heads up, worked their engines through the winter and when I spoke to one of them just after last testing session he never seem to worry. They didn't have weight distribution or fitting problems with their engine, felt it's strong enough to fight, furthermore they felt they can fight Mercedes powerplant week in, week out. Even with Perez on form during winter testing I felt they were overoptimistic, but now... Can anyone bet Perez won't win BF3 this year? I am confused and IMO he can do it.

[Net-Ranger]

Originally Posted by dave not neil

Just because Telmex back him, doesnt meen they have given him a top budget.

I would say he is with one of the better teams in the paddock as well. T Sport is a good, close knit team, with some top guys working for them. And a lot can be said for having a good team atmosphere and spirit. It helps boost a driver so much. And the fact he managed to wipe the floor with Frankie Cheng last year (an ex mclaren development driver) shows he has the talent.

Since the beginning of the Escuderia Telmex project and the end of the 90's, always they have put the money in teams in which they know they can be contenders for the victory, they usually try to have long term relationships with teams that give them results.

Let's review quickly the Telmex payroll...

Luis Diaz and Memo Rojas race in the late Bob Dorricot team in Atlantic series, doing both pretty well, Memo finish the season at top ten and Luis in the top 5...

When they expand the concept they take from the mexican F-Renault ranks Salvador Duran (recently ascended from go-karts) and take him to Italy to race with Cram, the rest is history...he is the lead driver right now of the Telmex program...

Memo Rojas was taken from the Atlantics to F-Renault V6 with DAMS, race along Neel Jani for example, score some podiums, but he was always on top 10...he's on Grand-Am now doing great when he's behind the wheel...

Diaz was taken to Grand-Am and fight all those battles along Scott Pruett... and the rest is history...He's now doing incredible on ALMS considering the limited team he's racing

Then came the Perez Brothers, Sergio was taken from the go-karts to the Euro F-BMW to start to developh him...and he slowly has start to give the results until the level we are now, so is not accident...his older brother, Antonio was as well a great F-Renault driver, however he has some bad luck and then he switch to stock cars, he was taken to the NASCAR Mexico Telmex team, and is doing good, just an example...he qualify in the Nationwide race at Mexico City at the top ten and this year will debut of the NASCAR East probably

Then came Pablo Sanchez Lopez, taken directly from go-karts and well, we all saw what he do racing F-Master and Italian F-3 with Alan Racing, now racing along Duran in Interwetten and with Cram in F-Master, the F-Master series title is the primary target for him as well he do the WSR...probably to race along Sergio once Duran step up, maybe to GP2

Out there are other Telmex drivers in the bubble, Juan Pablo Garcia won a place in the program for his work under the circunstances he have to face last year at BF3...remember that red Lola??...he's in the F-Renault Eurocup, he do regular on his debut but is expected to get nbetter, he has been racing F-Renaults in Mexico since a while, so they expect he start to get hot as the season goes...

Rogelio Lopez, already a winner in NASCAR East, going for his second full year in that regional division of NASCAR...

A1GP program was stopped to allow Telmex make his program bigger for this year...

what i want to say with all this is just that for those we know Sergio...all we can say he's just warming up...so expect this form last till the end of the season...

[Alex K]

Judges out there at Rockingham Net-Ranger, we'll see. But I must say, that I haven't seen potential in this guy last year, but now? :-) Good to see underdog leading the Championship. Who's going to Rocky?

[strider]

Personally, I have always considered T-Sport to be one of the best teams. You only have to look st their results in the National Class, which they have won several times. It's just that until now they haven't had a top-line driver in the International Class. Ryan Lewis and Rodolfo Gonzalez had the speed, but not the consistency.

As someone else said they are a small, close-knit and happy team and that gives a driver the right feeling of confidence. I'm sure Perez could have taken his Telmex money to Carlin or one of the other big teams, but he knew T-Sport from last year, when he won the National Class with them, and chose to stay. Smart boy.

NBE have had put a huge amount of effort into making their engine a Mercedes-beater and I'm delighted for them that they are reaping the rewards. Sergio himself is driving beautifully at the moment and his confidence is sky high.

So it's a combination of all three in my opinion and good to see.

[kerrmanningjarv]

Originally Posted by Alex K

If he had mighty Telmex, why didn't he sign to Carlin or Double R? Was one place left at Hitech?

Ah but, you see, he was confirmed as an Interwetten.com World Series by Renault driver before Telmex decided to send him back to F3 quite late in the day... so there were hardly any seats left at "big" teams. Also, T-Sport is the team that he won the National Class with last year so maybe he wanted to return there anyway?

[OJB]

That's why I'm guessing he has a comfortable amount of backing behind him, because they moved him back to F3. If they didn't believe in him then they'd have just dropped him.

His late move might explain not being able to sign with Double R/Carlin et al

Makes sense though putting him in F3, and he's certainly repaying them. Am assuming Duran moves up to GP2 next year, replaced by Perez in WSR. Unless Perez wins and gets to GP2 first...

[JamesRamone]

I'd take Perez over Duran any day. Duran has had his chances and failed to show his potential

[Alex K]

He does quality work in World Series.

[kerrmanningjarv]

^ Duran did disappoint me last year, however, with his inconsistency... in an A1GP car, he consistently runs at the front but, in WSR, he was anonymous at times. This year he's currently 4th, so better than last year, but he's losing touch with the top 3 already (he had a pointless weekend at Monza followed by an excellent Spa).

[strider]

Duran won the National Class in BF3 with P1 Motorsport, but for some reason did nothing when he moved up to the Championship Class.

However, he won a couple of races at Laguna Seca in A1GP and is a race winner in WSR, plus he was one of the winning drivers in the Daytona 24 Hours last years, so he still has plenty to offer.

[kerrmanningjarv]

^ Yes, I agree that he has talent... but his first WSR season was erratic and he needs to be more consistent this year to keep Telmex on side.

[dave not neil]

Originally Posted by strider

Duran won the National Class in BF3 with P1 Motorsport, but for some reason did nothing when he moved up to the Championship Class.

He didn't enjoy his time at Hitech, and never got on with the team.

It seems alot of people have a mentality of bigger is better, and can't understand why Perez wouldn't want to sign with one of the top teams. Well maybe Telmex learned from what happened with Duran. He won the national class with a small team, then gets put into a bigger team, where he isn't the lead driver, gets p*ssed off with the situation, and doesn't shine.