Sergio Perez says he is performing at his best after securing his future with Force India for another season.

On Thursday morning Force India announced Perez will be staying with the team for a third consecutive season having agreed a deal for 2016. Having joined the team from McLaren at the end of 2013, Perez scored a podium in Bahrain last year but was comfortably beaten by team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in the final drivers' standings.

However, this year Perez is leading Hulkenberg - who has also signed a new deal with the team - and the Mexican says he is driving better than ever.

“I am very happy to confirm that I will be staying with Sahara Force India," Perez said. "It means I can simply focus on the important stuff – driving the car and scoring points for the team.

"Since coming here I’ve really grown as a driver and I feel I’m performing at my best. I’ve always said I want to establish myself in a team and it’s the right moment to announce my commitment for the future with Sahara Force India."

And Perez says he is sure Force India can build on recent improvements in 2016 to move even further up the grid.

"I can feel the potential in the team and there is a good energy, which gives me confidence for next year. I think we can continue to deliver strong results and I will do my best to help drive the team forward. I also want to say 'thank you' to Telmex and Telcel for their continued support, which has played an important role in my journey over the last ten years.”

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

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