Perez no longer ‘obsessed’ with top team drive

Force India’s Sergio Perez says he is no longer “obsessed” with securing a race seat at a bigger Formula One team like he used to be earlier in his career.

The Mexican’s name has featured prominently on the rumour mill of this year’s silly season, with Perez first linked to a move to Ferrari while Renault and Williams later emerged as potential landing spots. However, the 26-year-old all but confirmed in Monza that he would stay at Force India in 2017.

Perez already has a previous experience at a front-running outfit, though his move to McLaren in 2013 coincided with the British team’s drop in performance. Talking to ESPN, he explained why chasing a better drive can have a detrimental effect on a racing career.

“When I was a bit younger I used to be obsessed with [getting to a top team], what would be available and what would not, and not enjoy so much the moment,” Perez said. “Right now I'm not so bothered at all.

“My main focus is to enjoy the present... now I always know what I'm doing next year I try to enjoy the moment, you know? In life, it changes all the time, so the most important thing is to enjoy the present.”

Perez has nicely recovered from his ill-fated, one-season spell at Woking, and re-established himself as a highly-sought prospect on the grid. But the former Sauber driver is well aware that F1 remains a performance-based business.

“We are 22, but there's probably ten of us who are a really competing on a very close level of racing.

“Only one tenth would separate us, you know, in the top ten drivers in the paddock. So it's not easy to stay here and carve out a long career. You have to work hard and give yourself a chance to work the best.

“If you don't perform quick enough you may not survive; it's very rare that people survive in Formula One without the results. I didn't have the results at McLaren and I didn't stay.

“I have the results now and people think differently of you - it's just the way the game works.”

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