Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Sergio Perez found himself in a difficult position a few years ago with Force India, but he helped open the door for Lawrence Stroll to enter Formula 1.
After a disappointing year with McLaren in 2013, Perez chose to leave to join Force India, the team then-owned by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya.
Then-team principal Otmar Szafnauer rejected Pastor Maldonado to sign Perez, showing the confidence he had in the young driver.
How has your view of Sergio Perez’s Red Bull career changed in the past couple of years?
Ultimately, the team, then known as Force India, underwent significant financial trouble, opening the door for Lawrence Stroll to acquire the team.
In 2021, Stroll rebranded the team to Aston Martin. But according to Sergio Perez, the Montreal native only had that opportunity thanks to the effort from him and his manager.
READ MORE: Sergio Perez says one season in his F1 career was even harder than his final year at Red Bull
Sergio Perez explains how he and his manager paved the way for Lawrence Stroll and Aston Martin
Speaking on the High Performance Racing podcast, Sergio Perez reflected on the financial issues that allowed Lawrence Stroll to buy Force India.
Perez noted that the team were struggling to pay their dues, and there was a risk that they could be dissolved. So he and his manager intervened, forced the team into administration, and allowed the sale process to begin for Stroll to acquire the team.
“It was really late, at the very latest stage. I had no idea on anything to do with law. They didn’t pay my salary for the entire year. It was kind of normal. We were having a bit of a delay. But my manager told me there was a winding-up petition from one of the suppliers that hadn’t been paid.
“What does that mean? Basically, they can shut down the company, and the whole team will lose their jobs. And you can’t save it. We did the whole process to put the team in administration before the winding-up petition comes into place.
“Together with Julian, my manager. If we didn’t put them into administration, the team would have gone bankrupt at the time.
“At the time, it was Force India, which is now Aston Martin. Aston Martin wouldn’t exist. We had 90 days to find a buyer. Luckily for the team, in came Lawrence, and he ended up buying while we were on administration.”
READ MORE: Sergio Perez said he would rather retire than drive for ‘one out of 10’ F1 team after McLaren exit
Has Lawrence Stroll made too many changes at Aston Martin?
Sergio Perez forced into awkward conversation into Force India staff
Speaking further, Perez revealed how he had to clear things up for the Force India staff after effectively forcing the team into a sale.
“That was crazy because all of this was happening during the summer, race after race. I remember before going into the car having a conversation with lawyers, not understanding it at all. Now it is a lot easier… Back then, it was not so clear.
“Then, at the end, I remember telling all my people, because it sounds bad that the driver is putting the team in administration… ‘I’m doing it only because it is right for everyone here. Otherwise, you guys are going to lose everything, all your jobs.’
“So I ended up explaining to them how it worked. So, they were a lot more calm. But at the end of the day, it was a lot of uncertainty during the administration period.”
Perez found himself in a difficult situation for anyone, especially for a young driver. One can only imagine this added to Perez’s woes with Force India during that time.
Perez’s efforts led to a monumental change in Formula 1, bringing Lawrence Stroll into the sport, leading to them rebranding to Racing Point and eventually Aston Martin.
Perhaps this is why Perez is an option for Aston Martin to replace Fernando Alonso, who might be on the way out of the team.
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
