Sergio Perez’s bid for a Ferrari race cockpit for 2017 may have just received multi-million dollar boost from none other than one of the world’s richest men.
The Mexican is riding a wave of confidence and form at present after two podiums in the last three races for the little Silverstone-based team Force India.
Ferrari and the 26-year-old have played down the speculation continues to link Perez with a move to Maranello next year.
Auto Bild claims that bid could have been boosted even more by his backer, Carlos Slim, who already sponsors Ferrari via Haas driver Esteban Gutierrez.
The report said Slim, who according to Forbes is the world’s fourth-richest billionaire, is willing to boost his sponsorship by an eight-digit figure if Perez is chosen to replace Kimi Raikkonen.
“He still has the fiery image of a young driver but now we also see he is methodical, calm and able to resist pressure,” former F1 driver Franck Montagny told Le Point.
“Now we will have to see if he can resist media pressure too, with these rumours,” added the Frenchman.
As for reports that Mercedes is also interested in Perez, team boss Toto Wolff said: “That’s not true.”
Perez is no stranger to Ferrari as he was part of their driver academy (FDA) and his Sauber debut in 2011 was instigated and backed by the Maranello squad, who were mentoring the Mexican moving to McLaren.
When with the Woking team he was asked if he saw leaving the Ferrari family as a missed opportunity, the Mexican answered: “No, it’s an experience that led me to a better place. I’m happy at McLaren; I hope to stay here for many years, maybe my entire career.”
Perez was dismissed from McLaren at the end of 2013 after a forgettable season with the legendary team in a time of decline.
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