Racing Point Explain “Options” Which Led to Sergio Perez Axing Instead of Lance Stroll

Racing Point has roped in the big fish of the market. Settling all speculations, Sebastian Vettel will be joining the team for the 2021 session. To accommodate Vettel, any one of the drivers had to leave. The choice was quite difficult as both Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll performed remarkably well. However, after a long series of planning and discussion, Sergio Perez was let go.

The decision came with a lot of questions hurled inside. Specifically, the fact that Lawrence Stroll owns the team, bugged everyone on and off the track. Team principal Otmar Szafnauer however, points out some specific contractual issues which do not permit the termination of Lance Stroll. Therefore, the Mexican had to be sacrificed to bring in German.

“Lance has been with us for a couple of years, he’s a young man at 21 years old and, yeah, his father does own the team. So when we looked to make a driver change because Sebastian became available, it would have been Checo because there are options in his contract and those options didn’t exist for Lance”, he said.

Apart from the contractual issue, Racing Point kept the performance in mind. Even though Perez performed pretty well, Stroll was even better. In fact, he stands 4th in the Championship list just below Max Verstappen. By adding Vettel to the team, Racing Point looks to solidify its team strength and go for the titles from the 2021 session.

“Lance is still young and only in his second season with this team. He’s in the ascendancy, enjoying his strongest year in the sport so far and sits fourth in the championship off the back of a podium. And there is more potential to come. He’s clearly demonstrating his talent and is fully deserving of his place alongside Sebastian next year.”

Sergio Perez so far in 2020

Sergio Perez has had a decent season so far. Out of 8 races, he started in 6 of those. In these 6 races, he managed to hold onto the top 10 and clinch vital points for his team. His P5 finish in the Spanish Grand Prix remains his highest finish this season.

Significantly, Perez can be branded as a consistent driver. He’s not one race material who’ll turn up the grid all of a sudden and then push back for the rest. He tries to outperform himself and his greatest strength lies in his consistency. His performance will be weighed up perfectly in the transfer session. Hopefully, he gets a good team to perform with from the next season.