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    •  August 30, 2016

    Does Perez need any more Reasons to stay at Force India after Spa?

    August 30, 2016
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    Ryan Ashenhurst
    Contributor
    Ryan Ashenhurst
    Contributor
    Author Signature

    Sergio Perez has already been dubbed “The driver to unlock the 2017 driver market”. He could be the key to unlocking the start of silly season. But after another strong performance and Force India now sitting 4th in the Constructors, why the hell would he leave?

    shrug

    The Mexican driver has been one of the highlights of 2016 and is a genuine contender for best-of-the-rest. There aren’t going to be any vacancies at the top three teams next season, so which team could be trying to pry Checo away from the ever-improving Force India?

    After finishing in 5th on Sunday, Perez said,

    “It’s definitely a great day for us. Obviously we don’t need to get carried away too much because there’s still a long way to go in the season, but it’s obviously a great result for the team and especially for myself.

    Given how tricky the race was after lap one, when the two Ferraris crashed and I had to go around the long way and lost a lot of positions. But I managed to recover and bring home a lot of points for the team.

    I think the team has been doing a tremendous job. Not just today, but basically since the beginning of the year. They’re really maximizing the whole potential of the car.

    I really hope we can keep doing it for the rest of the season. It would be great to get fourth place, but I’m not getting carried away because there’s still many races to go. We have to keep pushing very hard, but if we can get this fourth place at the end of the year it will be fantastic.”

    – Sergio Perez

    The trajectory of Force India has been upwards ever since Giancarlo Fisichella’s famous 2nd place at Spa in 2009 – Not a bad way to score your first points as a team! Their finishes in the Constructors over the years has seen a steady but sure rise:  2009 – 9th, 2010 – 7th, 2011 – 6th, 2012 – 7th, 2013 – 6th, 2014 – 6th, 2015 – 5th, 2016 – 4th?

    numbers

    If Perez ever wants to drive for a top team, surely his talent will be best suited to a team with such stability? Moving to Renault could be risky given that their objective in 2017 will be to become a team like Force India. Perez could do without a step-back at this point in his career.

    The 2017 regulations will shake-up the order, but Force India have delivered a solid package time and time again on a shoestring budget in relation to other teams. If the Mexican wants to take on a rebuild job, join Renault. If he want to join the top three at some point in his career, stay at Force India.

     

     

     

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