Sergio Perez: the rightful successor to Hamilton's throne

Sergio Perez proved his worth at Monaco.

Truth be told, McLaren haven’t had the best of seasons. They simply aren’t as competitive as last year but they have been gradually clawing their way back. Lewis Hamilton was heavily criticised for leaving the team and joining Mercedes but in the eyes of the driver, he made the right choice; Mercedes are up there with the top teams.

Sergio Perez was brought in to replace the Englishman and he has performed to the level a driver would given the car he has. Many would say that the Mexican was brought in only because he was financed by Carlos Slim Junior’s son – a probable sponsorship client for the team in the future. While the team vehemently denies the allegations, his recent race performances have quashed those claims, too.

Perez faced a lot of stick for his performances in the first two races but ever since China, the Mexican has come alive. He rubbed against teammate Jenson Button on the straight and the Englishman complained and whined about the incident over and over again. But given that’s just how Button is sometimes, it fell to deaf ears, rightly so

In Bahrain, Perez pushed Kimi Raikkonen off the track as he entered a turn; a bold move considering the kind of race the two of them were having. Raikkonen clearly left the door open and Perez took advantage. Not many drivers would do that, they’d cautiously wait for the DRS zones, not risking the car in the process.

Spain saw Perez finish ninth after a fairly productive race. He was quiet throughout, compared to his usual shenanigans. Then came Monaco – the icing on the cake. Known predominantly for the clear lack of space and almost no overtaking opportunities, Perez was put to the test.

He did ever so well that Raikkonen, a silent observer at all times, went public and asked if he could ‘punch Perez in the face.’

Past the tunnel and into the chicane, Perez made maximum use of his brakes to outbreak his opponents and taking the inside line. If he were to have tried this move an on inexperienced driver, he’d have got off with easily and claimed the position with ease but the young Mexican tried the move on teammate Button, Raikkonen and Ferrari‘s Fernando Alonso.

The exact spot where his manuevers were tried.

It worked against his teammate, who took the radio as usual. A few laps later, Alonso was victim to the move but the Spaniard held his ground a little more than Button, pushing him across the chicane while keeping his position. A red flag followed and the two-time world champion was asked to give the place back to Perez, something that didn’t set to well with the Ferrari driver.

After the restart, the exact same move was tried on Raikkonen, who didn’t succumb so easily causing a collision between the two drivers. Raikkonen was in fifth and the move punctured one of his tyres. The stop caused him to drop down to ninth by the end of the race.

Perez soon retired after the incident. The car couldn’t take no more; ‘overheated brakes.’ He could’ve gone on to win the team some points but he had a larger point to prove.

The Mexican, thoroughly underrated at McLaren, had to show the top drivers that he was one of them and after the Monaco Grand Prix, he achieved just that.

If Perez drives like how he is at the moment, soon, all the drivers will have to get to used to seeing his back.

McLaren had many choices to replace Hamilton. And in Perez, they picked a driver who isn’t afraid of to take a chance most wouldn’t and someone who built the bold image of the team all on his own this season – the rightful successor.

Perez has the fighting spirit and is willing to risk chances when possible, two traits that divide a great Formula 1 driver from a good one.