"It was evident from day one," recalls Sergio Perez. "I came from McLaren and I remember the first time visiting the factory at Force India. It was a shock straight away because I could see the deficit they had on money.
A transition from mighty McLaren at the end of 2013, when it was then only at the beginning of its slide from the front of the grid, to the squad then known as Force India is a dramatic lesson in the disparity of Formula 1 team budgets. But not so when it comes to results.
In Sergio Perez's first season at Force India, the team finished sixth - one place and 26 points behind McLaren. The following season it was fifth, with McLaren falling to ninth in the first of its disastrous years with Honda. Then came the golden years. In 2016, Force India usurped Williams as best of the rest behind F1's Mercedes/Ferrari/Red Bull 'Class A' (although Williams had impressively finished third in 2014 and 2015). And in 2017 it did so again, finishing fourth again despite the major regulations overhaul.