Formula 1 is not in the habit of handing out second chances. When Sergio Perez’s turbulent season at McLaren came to an end, a deal with Force India arguably bore all the hallmarks of a stop-gap in a terminal downward spiral for the Mexican’s career. And yet, his four-year stint with the team – in which he has collected four podiums and amassed 345 points – has been a revelation.
A virtuoso performance in just his third race with the team in Bahrain 2014, in which he eclipsed team-mate Hulkenberg and scored a podium finish, serves as a microcosm for his entire Force India career.
Sergio could always be relied upon to produce combative, banzai performances in chaotic conditions, and more often than not, outshining his eminent team-mate in the process. For a man whose stock value was damaged by his McLaren escapade, to outscore a man of Hulkenberg’s skill and reputation over a three-year partnership was an impressive scalp.
Indeed, it cannot be more broadly understated what an extraordinary achievement it has been for Perez to salvage his paddock profile to the point of allegedly being in contention for Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari seat before the Scuderia announced his retention. Other than the extraordinary case of Jenson’s Button fairytale championship campaign, it could be argued that no driver has quite so dramatically managed to recoup paddock esteem as Perez.
And yet, with a newly restored reputation and a steady supply of good results comes the aspiration to attain higher things. Unfortunately, Perez’s aforementioned failure to capture Raikkonen’s seat arguably marks the end of his prospects vying for top drives. Whilst he is unquestionably among the most consistently impressive performers on the grid, he is in the process of being undercut by a younger generation; by Verstappen, Sainz, Leclerc and Ocon.
The fact that Checo’s career cul-de-sac has been brought into sharper focus by the speed and confidence of new team-mate Ocon, has compounded the Mexican’s wider frustrations. Whilst completely inexcusable, the background context surrounding the Belgian weekend is an intriguing lens for viewing what was rightly called at the time as a completely outrageous batch of internecine collisions. The second incident especially was an uncharacteristically tempestuous moment of madness from the usually composed Mexican.
A sub-par Friday for Perez had seen him trailing Ocon at Spa, but as has often been the case in 2017, Sergio found the speed for when it mattered in qualifying. A brief review of the stats from the season poses the question why Perez has become so visibly rattled by the young Frenchman: he has been outqualified on just four occasions and, when both drivers have finished, Sergio has been outraced at just three grand prix.
And yet, the small average qualifying delta of just 0.16 back to Ocon, together with the fact that Esteban is yet to retire from a race this season, is indicative of the excellent job the Mercedes junior is doing.
Just as Sergio seized the initiative from Kamui Kobayashi to helm a super impressive campaign with the Sauber team in 2012, Ocon is baring all the hallmarks of doing the same in the near future, and is already being talked of as the anointed successor to Hamilton and Bottas.
It is clear to see that whispered paddock complements on the speed and maturity of Ocon has bolstered his confidence within the team, such that he had the confidence to request team orders against his more seasoned team-mate in Canada. Quite markedly in 2017, Ocon has juxtaposed his friendly off-track persona with a willingness to be aggressive and dynamic in the cockpit.
Esteban’s zealous style reached its zenith in Baku when a careless manoeuvre saw him tangle with his team-mate. Whilst for Ocon it was little more than a disappointing racing incident, Perez arguably sought to frame the collision as a chastising display of the young driver’s “lack of intelligence” and virulent puppy-dog aggression.
Whilst the collision hypothetically cost Force India the chance to fight for a victory, it is nevertheless difficult to recall a more unilaterally acrimonious dispute between team-mates. Small wonder that Esteban felt that he had sufficient moral high-ground to tweet “Perez tried to kill me” following another batch inter-team contact in Spa.
If anything, with an incessantly good-humoured demeanour and the occasional well-placed jab (such as the irony of calling his seasoned team-mate “unprofessional”), Ocon has been as effective at upping the pressure on his team-mate off-track as he has been on it. But in reality, Perez should be welcoming the challenge of the young Frenchman.
Just as much of Checo’s current notoriety derives from how well he compared to Nico Hulkenberg, the quality of Ocon – a man who beat Max Verstappen to the 2014 F3 title no less – can be a springboard to a higher level of performance and wider esteem in the paddock if Perez can weather his encounter.
Realistically, now that Raikkonen’s interminable second stint at Ferrari has been extended for a fourth stop-gap year in succession, Perez’s path to a top team looks almost impossible. Therein, Sergio might take interest in the Renault squad – a project showing great potential for the future and a team with a vacancy alongside former team-mate Hulkenberg.
And yet, for all the rational objectives that a move to Renault might fulfil, it would nonetheless look like a reactionary gambit in the wake of the collection of altercations with his boisterous new team-mate. Similarly, a sideways to Williams – which would be a coup for the Grove-based outfit – would be perceived even more greatly as a defeatist retort to Ocon’s nascent 2017 season.
Happily, for both Sergio and the team, Perez is looking set to extend his stay with Force India. The Silverstone-based squad not only continues to be arguably the most operationally efficient team in the pitlane, but has extracted from Checo a level of performance that ranks him among the most reliable pair of hands in the pitlane. Indeed, it has only really been Ocon-induced red mist that has seen the Mexican concede points in 2017.
Frustratingly for Perez, Force India cannot provide him with a winning car, but they can continue to provide him the platform from which he has accrued an already lofty paddock reputation. Keeping the lid on a driver of Ocon’s potential can only help.
