FEBRUARY 15, 2019

Perez will not change with Stroll as teammate

Sergio Perez says he has no problem teaming up with Lance Stroll at Racing Point in 2019.

Sergio Perez says he has no problem teaming up with Lance Stroll at Racing Point in 2019.

The Perez-Stroll dynamic is a fascinating one, with Perez being the highly experienced ongoing driver but Stroll joining the team as the son of new team owner Lawrence Stroll.

Perez and Stroll also have history, with the pair having argued as rivals following a first-lap crash in China in 2017.

"I remember it very well," Mexican Perez told Le Journal de Montreal, "but it's a thing of the past.

"Now we have to work together for the sake of our new organisation. Our relationship must be healthy, both on and off the track," he insisted.

Perez, 29, said he will not change his approach to racing his teammate this year, even if the occupant of the other car is Stroll.

At Force India, Perez clashed regularly with Esteban Ocon, and ended the year saying his relationship with his teammate was "never great".

But now that the boss's son will be his teammate, Perez insists: "I will not change the way I drive, even if my teammate is the owner's son.

"I'm not worried," he added. "We are at the highest level of our sport and we have a job to do."

(GMM)