Sergio Perez in F1 with Sauber in 2011

[fritticaldi]

Just wanted to point out the new driver that was hired by Peter Sauber.
Sergio Perez who was runner up in the 2010 GP2 Championship will be making his debut in 2011 replacing newly appointed Nick Heidfeld. Perez will be bringing sponsorship from Telmex the telecommunications giant.
Sergio Perez will be the first Mexican driver in F1 since Hector Rebaque back in 1979. Rebaque raced a privateer Lotus with Carta Blanca as sponsor.
What do the forum posters think of this situation created by Sauber?
.

[exepm]

I think that the big change will be in the sponsorship and Sauber needs for a main sponsor.

With money Sauber could be a good second line team as in the good times of BMW Sauber with chances to win a race and podiums.

[Holm86]

Im very glad that Sauber has secured a major sponsor for next year.
Though i think they should get another engine supplier if they want to be a front runner (still dont think Ferrari customers get the same exact engines as the factory team.

When it comes to Perez im not a fan of sponsor drivers. IMO the only drivers in F1 should be the ones with the talent to back it up.

[DaveKillens]

I believe this is a win-win situation for both Mexico and Sauber. Carlos Slim has deep pockets, and I expect a decent level of funding to raise Sauber above it's present level of performance. And it's been a long time since a driver from Mexico was in Formula One.

Hoorah =D>

[Belatti]

When it comes to Perez im not a fan of sponsor drivers. IMO the only drivers in F1 should be the ones with the talent to back it up.

Well, I think that is almost a thing of the past. In one way or the other Santander pays for Alonso, Mercedes for Schumacher, Hamilton´s talent was "funded" by McLaren since the early days, Red Bull and Renault driver developments programs gave us many many talented drivers, etc.
You need both talent AND money. Besides, I dont think a GP2 runner up lacks talent.

[alelanza]

And not only a runner up, but a runner up to a guy who's been in GP2 forever. Kinda like what happened with Pantano and Senna. I believe Chandhok hinted at this during one of the FP sessions this year.

[Holm86]

When it comes to Perez im not a fan of sponsor drivers. IMO the only drivers in F1 should be the ones with the talent to back it up.

Well, I think that is almost a thing of the past. In one way or the other Santander pays for Alonso, Mercedes for Schumacher, Hamilton´s talent was "funded" by McLaren since the early days, Red Bull and Renault driver developments programs gave us many many talented drivers, etc.
You need both talent AND money. Besides, I dont think a GP2 runner up lacks talent.

Alonso had allready shown his talent before Santander began sponsoring him. Same story with Schumacher. And Hamilton was funded because of his talent.

Sergio Perez is getting a F1 seat just becase he is mexican like the sponsor. Sure you got talent if youre the runner up in gp2 but if you go for the fastest driver why not choose the number one??

But the sort of "Sponsor Driver" i really dislike is the ones like Yamamoto ...

[alberto222mx]

Sergio Perez is getting a F1 seat just becase he is mexican like the sponsor. Sure you got talent if youre the runner up in gp2 but if you go for the fastest driver why not choose the number one??

That´s a very unfair judgement about Sergio Perez. He has a big sponsor but he also has a great talent. I think he has more achievements that some rookies who are racing in F1 this year. The Telmex sponsorship is not only Carlos Slim spending millons to put a mexican into an F1, is a process developed over years in many categories, Perez and Gutierrez are the result.

By the number one driver, I think you mean Maldonado. Well, he is a very talented driver, but IMO, and probably I'm a little biased, Perez is a better bet because he is younger and with less experience he had strong performances in many races and was fighting the championship for all the season.

[PlatinumZealot]

When it comes to Perez im not a fan of sponsor drivers. IMO the only drivers in F1 should be the ones with the talent to back it up.

Well, I think that is almost a thing of the past. In one way or the other Santander pays for Alonso, Mercedes for Schumacher, Hamilton´s talent was "funded" by McLaren since the early days, Red Bull and Renault driver developments programs gave us many many talented drivers, etc.
You need both talent AND money. Besides, I dont think a GP2 runner up lacks talent.

Alonso had allready shown his talent before Santander began sponsoring him. Same story with Schumacher. And Hamilton was funded because of his talent.

Sergio Perez is getting a F1 seat just becase he is mexican like the sponsor. Sure you got talent if youre the runner up in gp2 but if you go for the fastest driver why not choose the number one??

But the sort of "Sponsor Driver" i really dislike is the ones like Yamamoto ...

Fast drivers can come later.. Fast cars have to come now! And Sauber needs money to get a fast car...

[Belatti]

Alonso had allready shown his talent before Santander began sponsoring him. Same story with Schumacher. And Hamilton was funded because of his talent.

Sergio Perez is getting a F1 seat just becase he is mexican like the sponsor. Sure you got talent if youre the runner up in gp2 but if you go for the fastest driver why not choose the number one??

But the sort of "Sponsor Driver" i really dislike is the ones like Yamamoto ...

I agree that they guys that pay 1 million bucks for a couple of races in a backmarker are what we dislike. But if you think about it, they way Perez is arriving to F1 is way different. Sergio Perez is not Giovanni Lavaggi nor Pedro Diniz. The driver development program from were he is coming from is based on talent and results along steps in different formulas.

[alberto222mx]

Perez joins Ferrari Driver Academy

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/ ... 11355.html

[mx_tifoso]

Viva Mexico! (Lack of words at the moment)

This is simply great news.

[Byronrhys]

Meh... rather have Nick and Kamui but money does talk, Perez has big shoes to fill.