Perez set to stay at Sauber as backer loses patience with Ferrari
31 August, 2012
Sergio Perez at Spa-Francorchamps
Aug.31 (GMM) As Formula One emerges from its August slumber at Spa-Francorchamps, the chances that Sergio Perez will be staying at Sauber in 2013 seem to have increased dramatically as his backer has reportedly lost patience with waiting for Ferrari to make a decision on signing the Mexican driver.
The cream of Ferrari’s driver development programme, Perez has been tipped all season long as a likely successor to the struggling Felipe Massa.
But the 22-year-old said on Thursday: “Sauber is a great team doing a fantastic job.
“When I go to the factory and I see the people so motivated every day, I don’t see any reason why I want to leave,” he is quoted by The National newspaper.
“I’m happy here, and every day I’m more comfortable. I think the team can build a good car for next year, so I don’t see any reason to step away from it.”
Switzerland’s Blick newspaper reports that, earlier this year, Perez and Sauber’s backer Carlos Slim approached Ferrari, asking that the Italian team decide by August whether it wants to sign Guadalajara-born Perez for 2013.
Slim Domit is quoted by the French-language website f1i.com: “If I cannot continue to wait, it is simple. I will call Monisha Kaltenborn, buy the whole team and start a Scuderia Mexico.”
Sauber’s chief executive and shareholder Kaltenborn told Blick: “So far I haven’t got the call! We are going on our way, with our goals and with the responsibility of our more than 300 employees.”
Team boss Peter Sauber added: “I can hardly believe that Slim said that. But I suppose in this world full of rumours, everything is possible.”
Kaltenborn said Hinwil based Sauber is in no rush to decide its 2013 driver lineup.
“We are not busying ourselves too much over the driver question,” she insisted.
One rumour is that Sauber is shopping around, because the Mexican tie-up with Perez, Slim and reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez was not as lucrative as first thought.
On that suggestion, Peter Sauber replied: “No comment.”
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slim lost patience with ferrari.
he ready to buy whole ferrari team mean he’ll do anything possible to put perez on massa seat.
Wow, Slim gave Scuderia a dead line and is now ready to buy Sauber instead??? NICE!!! Please Ca$h your chip$ in now Peter, flip the wonderful team you built again, take your cut and run as far as you can from F1, again. Slim means business and time has ran out, so next week we will hear what will happen with Massa for sure… Stay tuned
So hyped is young Perez, yes… (Yoda-Talk)
Slim maybe rich as hell but he can’t buy patience.
Scuderia Mexico? really? lol