22/04/2019
NEWS STORY
Somewhat echoing Mrs Merton (Caroline Aherne) when she asked Debbie McGee; "what attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels", Sergio Perez continues to lavish praise on the Strolls.
Having previously described Lance Stroll as the best teammate he's ever had, the Mexican has now turned his attention to his father, Racing Point team owner, Lawrence Stroll.
"He has the speed, the talent, he works hard," said Perez of his Canadian teammate in Melbourne. "I think he's going to be constantly scoring points, which is great for the team.
"Esteban (Ocon) and Nico (Hulkenberg) had quite a similar approach, they always seemed to struggle a lot with race pace, but with Lance, his race pace is, from all the team-mates, the closest to mine," he added.
"In qualifying he can deliver too," said the Mexican. "He's already, on Sundays, quite good. I was quite surprised because going for a long run I seemed to find it a bit easier with my previous team-mates, but it's not the case now. He has a good understanding. It's good, it's what you need to score points, especially with this tight midfield."
Now, talking on the official F1 website's Beyond the Grid podcast, Perez lavishes praise on Lawrence Stroll, leader of the consortium that bought Force India last summer.
"He's very enthusiastic, he's probably the most motivated person we have in the garage right now," says the Mexican. "He says that this is a project that has motivated him the most in his whole life, it's the project that gets him up at six in the morning and he's flat out trying to go through everything.
"He's pushing the team very very hard, but at the same time he's letting Otmar and the big boys do their job," he continues, "but we are all aware that we have to get the results sooner rather than later. He loves racing, I'm surprised with his energy and how much he wants his team to be successful."
Perez was keen to play down speculation that because he is the 'boss' son' Lance Stroll might receive preferential treatment.
"No, I feel so much part of this team, of this family," he insists. "We are all in the same boat. We want to bring the team forward.
"We are not where we want to be at the moment. It's about bringing the team forward and I don't see that happening in my case to be honest," he adds, referring to favouritism. "Up to now, everything has been transparent, everything has been as before. We are all very excited and so much looking forward to this new project."
Claims that future podcasts will see Sergio describing Mrs Stroll as the best-dressed, most glamorous woman he has ever met, and the Stroll's Labrador as the best behaved dog he has ever encountered, are thought to be wide of the mark.