Mallya: "Perez should leave for Ferrari only"
- Published on 20 Jul 2017 14:57
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- By: Mason Hawker
Force India owner Dr Vijay Mallya has indicated that he is more than satisfied with the team's 2017 driver lineup, adding that its Mexican star Sergio Perez should only consider a move if he is offered a Ferrari seat.
The Indian businessman was speaking to Auto Motor und Sport following his only public appearance of the season so far at the British Grand Prix. He is currently unable to travel elsewhere due to the seizing of his passport by India's authorities in the midst of ongoing legal troubles - but has denied that this will lead to the sale of Force India. "There are no contacts," Mallya insisted. Over 10 years we have gained respect and had success. I would now like to enjoy it."
Moving onto the matter of his legal predicament in India, he added that these would be fully addressed as he continues to oversee the team from the UK: "I will face my responsibilities in India. But until now there have been only allegations and not a single piece of hard evidence. But the team would survive without me, so I sleep peacefully as I know Force India is well-positioned."
It has already been reported that Force India is considering a name change for 2018 in order to create a more international brand image, but one thing Mallya is not keen to change is its drivers. Esteban Ocon already has a contract for next year, whilst Perez should - in Mallya's opinion - only give thought to moving if Maranello comes calling. "Otherwise, he is in the best hands with us, and I think he appreciates that," he said.
Mason Hawker
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Replies (8)
Login to replyWolfgang
Posts: 313
Perez is probably one of the drivers the other teams don´t want, so i´m pretty sure he is going to stay at Force India..
--> Look at Ocon he is i´d say quite new in this F1 business and already performing nearly as good as Perez who is now i think 7-8 years in F1.. Give Ocon one more year and i´m sure he´s outperforming Perez. AND Ocon seems to be more clever than Perez after all those Canada and Baku interviews..
mclarenfan1968
Posts: 1,027
Ocon is not even that special yet he is making a fool out of Perez trololo! Perez had his chance at Mclaren but he could't rise to the challenge. Put Perez in the merc now and he would win the title no problem but so can more than a dozen F1 drivers at any given year, and that isn't saying much.
talktohenry
Posts: 362
He is the best man for the Ferrari seat alright VJ on the ball there.....
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
I'd like to see how he'd cope in a top team again
denis1304
Posts: 284
he was in McLaren and he couldn't, in my opinion
Barron
Posts: 625
I suspect he's after a premium from Ferrari to buy out Perez contract? This man is very very slippery.
Barron
Posts: 625
Or, are you saying Perez is not good enough? I actually think he's better than he appears to be but it's only a gut feeling to be honest..
Alonzo
Posts: 66
When he was at McLaren in 2013, McL wasn't a top team, they were heading down hill fast, Button finished 9th and Perez 11th. So please, he's a much better driver now, ask Hulk, he got beat by Perez, until he left for the seat that Perez didn't take at Renault...
Ferrari? Doubt it very much... But one of the better drivers on the grid, no question.... Surprising how many haters he has....