Perez vs Grosjean: Who Fits Better at Ferrari?

Ferrari is that team that rarely signs a raw talent for its driving seat.  It monitors and selects fairly experienced candidates for its factory seat. With major regulatory changes set to be introduced in 2017, it seems an ideal time for a team to sign a new driver. Kimi Raikkonen has yet to be tied down for 2017. A whole set of names are being linked with Ferrari.

Two names of which are Romain Grosjean of Haas F1 and Sergio Perez of Force India. Both are experienced drivers now and are no strangers to the podium. Both have pushed their cars to their limits, challenging for positions their cars are not always expected to compete for. Both have had close association with Ferrari. The question is to choose which one of these two talents should be given a drive for Ferrari.

Sergio Perez

Force India
Race Starts: 101 (104 entries)
Podiums: 7
Best season end finish: 2015, 9
Current position in 2016: 8

Perez made his F1 debut with Sauber in 2011 and was the member of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2010 till 2012. His 2011 season was good as he showed raw pace but aggression and a bit of recklessness. It was 2012 when he really shone, where he was a bit reckless in driving but his pace and ability to push the car saw the Sauber step on to the podium 3 times.

In 2013, he left for McLaren but a disappointing season for him and the team saw him part ways to join Force India. Its here that Perez established himself as a talent. Force India was the strong mid table side, but Perez took the car beyond its capabilities resulting  4 Podiums in 2 and a half seasons, and also he had taken the car to 5 on few occasions.

What makes Perez a top candidate is his pace and choice of strategies he make and tyre management. His aggression, which he has now tamed, also serves him well now. All his podium finishes have come only when he took risky tyre set ups to the other front runners. He would also make fewer pitstops. With amazing management of the tyres, he would be able to comfortably claim his podium place. The only exception was Monaco of 2016, when he pitted the same number of times as most of the field in a wet to drying track.

As a former member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, he has been in the seat of some of the older cars. And he does have sponsors backing to bring in the funds (though with his performances, he can merit seats on his own now).  As someone who can take risks and manage the tyres, he could be that spark Ferrari needs to finally battle Mercedes head on.

Romain Grosjean

Haas F1
Race Starts: 91 (91 entries)
Podiums: 10
Best season end finish: 2013, 7
Current position in 2016: 11

Between the two, Grosjean currently has the closest tie up with Ferrari. This is thanks to Haas F1’s close partnership with Ferrari when the team entered in 2016. In his four full seasons in F1, Grosjean has been on the podium more often than Perez. Having made his debut in 2009 with Renault, he secured a full time seat with Lotus in 2012, partnering Kimi Raikkonen.  His performance was good and in 2013, was magnificent towards the closing stages of the season. Only Sebastian Vettel had scored more points over the closing races of 2013. In 2014, he had to perform in a poor Lotus machine, which struggled with the new regulations. Despite the struggles in 2015 as well, he was able to take a 3 place at Belgium and still scored a healthy 51 points that season.

With Haas F1, he has had a strong start to the season but has tapered off a bit. However, he finished 13-14 in the non-point finishes, well better than what was expected out of a debutant team.

As a candidate, Grosjean has been on the podium more often and has shown in the past that he can consistently challenge for podiums. As a member of Haas F1, their chassis and gearbox shares similarities to the current Ferrari design. This should allow a much easier adjustment into a new team. Like Perez, he was error prone as well and even earned a disqualification for a crash. However that’s now a thing of the past.  Grosjean’s pace and tyre gambling strategies can pay dividends. In the 2013 Indian Grand Prix. A disastrous qualification saw him start 17, but using a one-stop strategy saw him finish 3.

Compared to Perez he would be the likely of the two who could deliver results faster. Ferrari is not a team to wait. As shown with Haas and the struggling Lotus, he can really take a car beyond its capabilities and compete constituently above its weight. And he does have the experience of making continuous podium appearances.  However, Perez might be the one willing to take more risks to get the victory. If Ferrari do choose to replace Kimi with either one of these, it would be a tough choice to make.