He secured his first points in Spain later that season, and looked on good form going into the race in Monaco. Perez made his F1 debut at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix, finishing seventh, although Sauber were later disqualified from the race for technical infringements. He was also named a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. Perez became the fifth Mexican to compete in F1 and the first since the retirement of Hector Rebaque in 1981. In late 2010, Sauber announced that the Mexican would join them for the 2011 season as a replacement for Nick Heidfeld. Perez's results and significant financial backing from sponsors in Mexico drew the gaze of F1 teams. In the off-season, he competed in two rounds of the 2009/2010 GP2 Asia Series for Barwa Addax, winning five races and finishing second overall behind Pastor Maldonado. Perez then moved to Arden International to join the main GP2 Series in 2009.ĭriving alongside Edoardo Mortara, Perez finished 12th overall, with his best finish a second-place at Valencia. He won the first race of the season at Sakhir, and added a second win in Qatar. He was rewarded for his Formula 3 form with a call-up to the Campos Grand Prix team, racing in GP2 for the 2008/2009 GP2 Asia Series. The success in the United Kingdom brought Perez further attention from teams further up the motorsport ladder. Both he and the constructor moved up to the premier International Class the following year.
Racing for the T-Sport team, Perez dominated the series, winning two-thirds of the races and finishing all but two on the podium.
With his confidence building, he made one of the biggest calls in his young career and opted to move to Oxford, UK to compete in the British Formula 3 championship for the 2007 season. The first year away from home failed to produce the type of success Perez would have dreamt of as he struggled to 14th in the drivers' standings that season.īut at the wheel of a 4speed Media car, the next year he improved to sixth, and for the 2006/2007 season, Perez raced in the A1 Grand Prix championship for Team Mexico, the third-youngest driver to participate. Those early years showed glimpses of the young driver's promise, with a range of trophies in both his home country and the United States, and the early success would win him a move to Europe to compete in the German Formula BMW ADAC series in 2005. Sergio 'Checo' Perez was born in Guadalajara, Mexico on 26 January 1990, the son of a former stock car racer, and by age six he had already begun to participate in karting.
0 kommentar(er)
