Perez: Ocon replaces 'one of the best' in Hulkenberg

Sergio Perez believes Esteban Ocon has big shoes to fill at Force India, describing Nico Hulkenberg as "one of the best" drivers in F1.

Hulkenberg made the decision to join Renault over the winter, being released from his Force India contract a year early after three seasons alongside Perez. Mercedes youngster Ocon was signed as Hulkenberg's replacement and Perez believes the Frenchman has the potential to be a success but says he will be following a top quality driver.

"I think Nico is one of the best ones out there," Perez said. "It was very difficult to beat him this year and last year… it has been very competitive between us and we push each other forward quite a lot.

"I learned a lot from him, I don’t know whether he learned a lot from me but I look forward to having a similar level of competitiveness to Esteban. I have heard a lot of good things about him so let’s see how quick he is and how quick he can get on with the new regulations. We are all starting from zero."

And having previously claimed Force India can target a top three position in the constructors' championship in 2017, Perez says Ocon's ability to produce consistent results like Hulkenberg will be crucial to that challenge.

"Definitely. The team went for the best possible driver that they could get. Everyone is happy to have Esteban for next year so let’s hope we can deliver many points to the team."

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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.