Sergio “Checo” Perez Named Top Ten Driver of 2012 Formula 1 Season, Looks Ahead to New Challenges with New Team

Sergio “Checo” Perez recently concluded his second season in Formula 1, for which he was named one of the top ten drivers of the 2012 campaign. The end of the season marks a significant transition for the 22-year-old driver. After two years with Sauber, Checo will now take his talents to the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes racing team, signing a multi-year deal to race alongside 2009 world champion Jenson Button. Said Perez, “I'm under no illusion that it is indeed a very big step – as it would be for any driver – but I'm ready for it.”

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team Martin Whitmarsh noted that Perez’s performance this season brought him a lot of favorable attention. “It was a string of giant-killing performances, a trio of podiums and a brilliant fastest lap in this year’s Monaco Grand Prix that showed us that Sergio lacksnothing in terms of speed and commitment, said Whitmarsh. “We've been monitoring his progress carefully for some months - and, now that he's become part of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, our task will be to refine and develop his abilities as his career progresses over the coming years.”

Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn thanked Checo for his time at Sauber “Our thanks also go to Sergio Pérez, who has claimed three podiums for the team so far and now has the opportunity at McLaren-Mercedes to display his immense talent with one of the most successful teams in Formula One history. We would also like to wish Sergio all the best and every success for the future.”

Watch this video where Checo thanks his fans at the conclusion of a successful season.

Read More

Mexican Racing Fans Applaud Formula 1's Launch in Texas

Thousands of Mexican fans flowed into Austin for F1 and the thrill of watching Mexican driver Sergio "Checo" Pérez speed around the track. David Besch was one of them. As he waited in line to get into the Circuit of the Americas stands , Besch said F1 in Austin reminded him of the thrill of his first race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.

“I was about eight or nine years old – I think. My uncle took me to the race. From then on, I didn’t stop watching it.”

Many of the fans this weekend said they were ready to see Mexico reopen its F1 track. Recent reports say the country’s leading business owners – among them Carlos Slim Domit, the son of one of the richest men in the world – are talking are talking about getting on the F1 schedule as early as next year.

But it’s been decades since Mexico hosted a Formula 1 race. That would take updating a track that was last used in 1992 to address any safety concerns for drivers. And, reassuring travelers they would be safe from drug cartel violence.

Fan David Rojas, from Mexico City, rushed to reassure them. “In regards to the race – I don’t think there would be any problems – I mean, there’s been tourism all these years, and there’s going to be a major pursue in tourism. So, I don’t expect that to be a huge issue there.”

But until Formula 1 is revived in Mexico, the Circuit of the Americas track here in Central Texas – just 200 miles from the US-Mexico border – will have to do.

Read More

F1 Driver Checo Perez Chats with MexicoToday, Talks Future with McLaren

Sergio Pérez also known as "Checo," is a Mexican formula One racing driver. Pérez, who currently resides in Schindellegi, Switzerland, was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy until 2012. He also took his first Formula One podium at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Sergio “Checo” Perez recently concluded his second season in Formula 1, for which he was named one of the top ten drivers of the 2012 campaign. The end of the season marks a significant transition for the 22-year-old driver. After two years with Sauber, Checo will now take his talents to the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes racing team, signing a multi-year deal to race alongside 2009 world champion Jenson Button. Said Perez, “I'm under no illusion that it is indeed a very big step – as it would be for any driver – but I'm ready for it.”

Checo has a great 2012 and many were uncertain if the driver woud make the move. However, when MexicoToday asked Checo to asses his recent season he said, "I have had ups and downs, but I went up to the podium. I'm only 22 years old, I'm progressing from race to race, and now it is impossible to evaluate my potential. My goal for [2013] is to compete for the title. I am very happy that I had such a chance this year."

On 28 September 2012, Lewis Hamilton's decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes in 2013 was announced, and Pérez was subsequently confirmed as Hamilton's replacement. Interestingly, Checo will also replace Lewis in McLaren's cartoon "Tooned."

Read More

In Austin, F1 Fans Swept Up In “Checomania” For Mexico’s Sergio Perez

During Saturday's qualifying rounds, I could hear the crowd chanting as I walked through the grandstands even with the earplugs in my ears to dampen the sound of the screaming Formula One engines.

It was hard to tell what they were saying at first, until their voices became louder and they competed with the sounds of the cars. "Che-Co! Che-co! Che-co!" Then a minute later, it was clear to everyone what these fans were saying. "CHE-CO! CHE-CO! CHE-CO!"

These people were the thousands of fans who came out to the Circuit of the Americas to turn Mexican driver Sergio "Checo" Perez into the inaugural U.S. Grand Prix's unlikely local hero.

Out here at the circuit, you see scores of people dressed in blue Red Bull garb because Sebastian Vettel has been so dominant in recent years. And there are an even greater number of fans wearing Ferrari red because, well, they're Ferrari — they are to open-wheel racing what the Yankees are to baseball.

But there has also been a huge and somewhat unexpected contingent of fans dressed in white or draped in Mexican flags to cheer on Perez, the 22-year-old Sauber Ferrari driver who is one of F1's most exciting up-and-comers. In case you didn't know, Perez will be racing for McLaren next year, taking Lewis Hamilton's spot as he moves to Mercedes.

Maybe Perez is not such an unlikely hero. Texas used to be Mexico until a war was fought for independence. This state has a huge population of Mexican-Americans, Mexican immigrants and Mexican nationals who call it home. And Austin is only about 235 miles from the Mexican border. Plus, Perez is the only North American currently competing in F1.

For these reasons and more, the circuit has seen a tremendous turnout of people who are rooting for Perez. I've taken to calling it "Checomania," and Austin has it bad.

Continue reading about Sergio "Checo" Perez race in Austin, Texas at Jalopnik.com!

Read More

Sergio Checo Perez Shines at Austin Grand Prix

Sergio “Checo” Perez finished in 11th place at the inaugural United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. However, he was clearly number one in the hearts of the many fans who turned out to cheer him on.

The automotive blog Jalopnik summed it up this way: “You hear a lot of Mexican fans talking about Perez the way that Brazilians used to talk about Ayrton Senna. Mexico has been going through some rough times economically and socially over the last decade, but a lot of Mexicans are tired of their country only being in the news for cartel-related violence. The Mexican tourism industry has fought hard against that image.” 

Among the fans who travelled to watch Checo compete was Miguel Candia, a 52-year-old  engineer from Guadalajara, Jalisco. When asked by the Austin American-Statesman if Checo gave Mexico hope, Candida said “Of course. But so do the Mexicans who won the mathematics Olympics, the champions of the robotics competition and the winners of many cultural competitions out there. There are many brilliant Mexicans who make us proud, but today Checo is our ambassador.” 

Read More

Sergio "Checo" Perez finishes second place in the Italian Grand Prix

Congratulations to Sergio "Checo" Perez for his stunning second place finish in the Italian Grand Prix. The podium finish helped the young Mexican driver cement his place in the top ten drivers in the Championship. 

Read More