I've said before, i have no problems with Sergio Perez the man, i dislike Sergio Perez the driver. His style is anti-F1, it's against everything the sport is about. If he wants to look after his tyres, go and try endurance racing.
Good tyre management - good car management generally - is part of the skillset of F1 drivers. The introduction of in-race refuelling in 1994 to break the Williams dominance and spice up the show led to an artificial environment in which everyone was condemned to adhere rigidly to the same strategy, which was dictated by the size of the fuel tanks. Knowing, in most cases, for a fact that your competitors had to stop the same number as times as you meant you invariably waited for the pit stops in which to 'overtake' them. Of course it's a matter of taste and opinion. In mine, burning your tyres in the safe knowledge that you were giving nothing away to your rivals because they were hampered by the regulations is anti-F1 because it requires no racecraft or intelligence; it was just sprint-stop-sprint-stop-sprint with no real racing involved.
I think Kyle is being harsh, because Perez is unquestionably a talented lad, although he does have a point. Golf and F1 are two sports that we don't compare very often, for good reason. But bear with me. Seve Ballesteros at his best used his outstanding talent to show that under certain circumstances professional golf can be moderately interesting. That on par fours it isn't all about hit the fairway perfectly, putting a clean second shot onto the green and then two-putting. That with enough ingenuity and putting ability, he could play golf the way you or I might end up accidentally playing it, and still compete at the very highest level. Sergio Perez at his best is the exact opposite. He uses his outstanding talent to show that by conserving tyres and being willing and able to fight ruined ones for a lap or two, you can get past faster, more racy-looking cars without producing a modicum of on-track excitement. Make no mistake, he's quite possibly a future WDC, and if he pulls it off he will deserve it. But what's exciting isn't the prospect of watching Perez himself, he's boring. It's the prospect of him getting into leads that way, and then being put under pressure by a Hamilton, Webber or Alonso in the final stint that has me itching for him to get to a good team. A driver who can cope with just about anything trying to fend off someone with slightly better tyres, capable of trying almost anything.
How is his style anti-F1? He's not boring to watch either: [video=youtube;--LAqx_3bE4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--LAqx_3bE4[/video] Over an hour to finally get this video uploaded. **** you FOM, blocking the video 3 times.
Actually I'm the chariman here for Perez that and the Vettel fan club, nando's, the I think maldonado looks like a gorilla and I cant believe it's not butter club... Forza is my vice chairman by democratic election of a majority of 50% out of 2 people, me and him. No Bahrain democracy issues going over here
I'm not a fan of pinning my argument on Sky blogs written people not quite as talented or famous as failing Welsh football managers. But each to their own Seriously though, I don't think there is any doubt that Perez has more potential than Kobayashi, nor do I think being linked to the traditional front runners is unrealistic or undeserved. But Sergio will never be more watchable than Kamui.
Eh? - And just when I thought some people were beginning to understand motor racing⦠Any race, in any sport (with the possible exception of the 60 yard dash) has an element of endurance. Grand Prix racing is meant to be a test of driver and machinery. This is why it is not a Clubman's race of 15 miles. In the dark days of refuelling, F1 did its best to morph into something silly: sprint racing - before eventually coming back to its senses to remember what it was supposed to be. It takes enormous skill and judgement to drive these things very quickly whilst preserving their speed. If you remove the element of 'endurance', you may as well remove the title 'Grand Prix'.
Every single one of my drivers has endeavoured to keep me just above mid-table. I hope that Marussia's trademark reliability lasts through the race...
Thanks to Checo doing well, i could be making up some ground. I am the Narain Karthikeyan of sweepstakes.
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