Whitmarsh: Pérez doesn’t know what it’s like to drive for McLaren
Next season, Sergio Pérez will leave Sauber to join McLaren, one of the most successful teams in the history of Formula 1. This track record requires delivering good results and inevitably adds a bit more pressure. According to Whitmarsh, the Mexican will need to learn to manage this pressure.
Since the announcement of his transfer to McLaren for the 2013 season, Sergio Pérez has been accumulating missteps. Coincidence for some, a real source of concern for others, the on-track behavior of the young Mexican is certainly a topic of debate.
When asked about this by the Daily Mail, Martin Whitmarsh admits that Pérez will have to learn to handle the pressure of driving for McLaren: “He will discover a different world at McLaren. He will arrive in Australia next year with much more pressure on his shoulders, and that’s something he will have to learn to manage.”
If we look at the list of Grand Prix winners since 1997, we see that with the exception of the 2006 season, the Woking team has always stood at least once on the top step of the podium. Driving a McLaren-badged single-seater therefore requires a certain level of performance, and this obligation to succeed implies additional pressure.
« If you’re not on the first two rows of the grid and not fighting for the win, then we have pressure that other teams don’t have, except Ferrari. When Red Bull was not competitive, no one put pressure on them; there is extra pressure being a McLaren driver. He must think he understands it but he’s wrong, » emphasizes the boss of the British team.
Sergio Pérez’s arrival will allow the English team to expand its marketing options, but Whitmarsh insists that merit and talent alone played a role in the choice of Sergio Pérez to support Jenson Button: « We are an international brand. We had two British drivers because they were the two best drivers I could hire, and we will have an Englishman and a Mexican because they are the best I could have for the coming seasons. »
The future which, according to some rumors, might no longer be associated with Mercedes. Honda or even Porsche have been mentioned as possible future engine suppliers for the English team, but for Whitmarsh, McLaren will continue its collaboration with the star-brand for many years: « It will be McLaren-Mercedes for a few more years. It’s a good partnership and it works well. We have been together for 18 years and it will continue in the years to come. »
