Singapore GP: Sergio Perez accepts he needs to improve for McLaren
Sergio Perez has admitted he is unhappy with his performance in the 2013 Formula 1 season amid question marks over his McLaren future
The Mexican has scored 18 points this year compared to team-mate Jenson Button's 38 and his place at the team is being evaluated even though boss Martin Whitmarsh has said the squad will "in all probability" retain the same driver line-up.
Perez accepts he must get the best out of the car at every opportunity to fulfil his potential even though McLaren has also struggled with an uncompetitive design.
"I have to say that I am not happy with my performance at all," said Perez when asked to analyse his season by AUTOSPORT.
"The car and the year have been very difficult, we are still learning about the car so it makes things difficult.
"[In Singapore I went] from being P7 in practice three, looking quite good, and we went a little bit in the wrong direction, we lost two tenths and we are P14.
"My season looks worse on paper than it has been in terms of speed but I know very clearly that I have to improve and I am working to improve because once we get the car we have to be right in every single detail.
"Even though the car has not been there, we haven't been good enough all together to maximise every single detail."
MCLAREN LOOKING FOR MORE
Although he accepts the Mexican has faced a tough challenge, Whitmarsh wants to see more from Perez.
"It is not easy coming into a team and beating someone like Jenson who doesn't often make mistakes, gets it right, is quick, knows how to work with the team very well," said Whitmarsh.
"He has set himself ambitious targets, he will want to go further, we want him to go further.
"This is a year of learning for him. I am sure we haven't seen the best of him yet, I am sure he strives to be up there and wants to beat Jenson."
As well as suggesting there is more to come from Perez, Whitmarsh also said there was no possibility of junior driver Stoffel Vandoorne racing for the team next year.
"Yes, I think I can," said Whitmarsh when asked whether he could rule out, absolutely, that Vandoorne would be one of McLaren's race drivers in 2014.
SERGIO PEREZ IN 2013
Starts: 13
Points: 18
Best grid position: 8th
Best finish: 6th
Qualifying record versus Button: 5-6
AUSTRALIA
Start: 15th Finish: 11th
Misses out in rain-hit qualifying but race pace is similar to team-mate Button's as he finishes two places behind him.
MALAYSIA
Start: 9th Finish: 9th
Has a poor qualifying, ending up a second off Button, but turns in a solid race drive despite having to abandon a planned three-stopper.
CHINA
Start: 12th Finish: 11th
Crashing in the pit entry in FP1 kicks off a dire weekend in which he's slower than Button. Clashes with Raikkonen in the race.
BAHRAIN
Start: 12th Finish: 6th
A couple of tenths off Button on Saturday, he drives well in the race, although incurs the ire of his team-mate and Alonso after clashing with both.
SPAIN
Start: 8th Finish: 9th
Outqualifies Button for the first time, but can't match his team-mate's tyre management and ends up following him home.
MONACO
Start: 8th Finish: Retired
Shows a good turn of speed and qualifies well and while there are some good, on-the-limit, moves he also overdoes it on occasion, leading to his race unravelling.
CANADA
Start: 12th Finish: 11th
Outqualifies Button but should have made Q3. Has a solid, if unspectacular race and while he doesn't score, he is the first McLaren to take the chequered flag.
BRITAIN
Start: 13th Finish: 20th
Has a wild weekend at times and starts down the grid, but a blowout while trying to fight his way to a point leads to him pulling out of the race close to the finish.
GERMANY
Start: 13th Finish: 8th
Struggles a little in qualifying, but his race pace is good and he finishes not far behind Button, with only the recovering Webber between them.
HUNGARY
Start: 8th Finish: 9th
Has one of his strongest weekends, making Q3 unlike Button. Struggles with his tyres in the first stint, but shows decent race pace thereafter despite finishing behind his team-mate.
BELGIUM
Start: 13th Finish: 11th
Poor timing means he doesn't get a proper run in Q2. A needless squeeze on Grosjean in the race earns him a penalty and costs a points finish.
ITALY
Start: 8th Finish: 12th
His raw pace is similar to Button's and he shades him in qualifying. But proves not to be as formidable in combat in the race, slipping out of the points late on.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments