Stroll: 'Perez pushes me 100 percent - makes me stronger'

Lance Stroll was delighted to learn at the end of last month that Sergio Perez will remain with SportPesa Racing Point until at least the end of 2022, insisting the Mexican is a great asset for both the team and himself.

Perez, who began his relationship with the Silverstone-based squad in 2014, is renowned for his pace but also for his outstanding consistency, and therefore serves as good barometer of performance for Stroll.

However, with the exception of Monza, Perez has outqualified the Canadian at every single race so far and outscored him by 8 points in the championship although Stroll gets bragging rights for delivering to his team its best result of the season, a feat achieved at Hockenheim where the 20-year-old finished 4th

"He’s a very good driver and he’s scored a lot of points for the team over the years," commented Stroll, speaking about his teammate.

"So that’s positive going into the next years, he’s a driver that brings points home, and capitalises on opportunities. He’s been on the podium eight times."

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Stroll admitted - as his track record versus his teammate clearly implies - that beating Perez on merit on any given day required the Canadian to pull out all the stops.

"It’s always good to have someone that’s really on top of their game next to you and he’s that guy.

"He pushes me 100 percent and that makes me stronger, and in order to be competitive I have to bring my A-game as much as I can.

"That makes it fun. That’s what competition and sport is all about, it’s having that competitive spirit, that healthy relationship within the team, we have that."

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