After a trio of impressive podiums in Malaysia, Canada and Italy for Sauber in 2012, McLaren snapped up Sergio Perez to replace the outgoing Lewis Hamilton. On his first official day as a McLaren driver, the Mexican spoke candidly about how he’s fitting into the Woking-based team, his preparation for the upcoming season and the importance of reaching the top step of the podium in 2013...
Q: You’ve had a busy first day as an official McLaren driver. What have been your first impressions of the team and the factory?
Sergio Perez:It’s been a great day, a very busy day, but an extremely nice day that I have really enjoyed. I’ve really enjoyed my first day as an official McLaren driver. It’s been very special.
Q: What are the things that you want to get addressed before the season starts?
SP: The most important for me is to get into the rhythm of everything automatically - the steering wheel, all the codes, understanding the set-up of the car and to develop good communication with my engineers. It’s very important that I build my relationship with my engineers and the team so that when we go to the first test I am as familiar as possible with the team. Then when we get to Melbourne I will be well prepared, everything will be automatic and I won’t have to think about so many things. The more prepared I can get, the better.
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