© Force India

Sergio Perez graduated from karts at the tender age of 14 and was immediately brought under the wing of telecommunications giant Telmex, which sent him to the Skip Barber Racing School in the U.S.A.

Telmex money then oiled his progression through the European junior formulas, seeing him race in Formula BMW, British Formula 3 and reach GP2 at just 18 years old. Despite wins along the way, he never took an overall title victory (although he did win the British F3 national series).

However, his talent started to shine through in the GP2 Asia Series and he became the youngest ever winner in the category with victory at the Bahrain sprint race. In his first European GP2 season he finished 12th after picking up a couple of podiums, but it was in 2010 when he really made a name for himself, taking four wins including the prestigious Monaco feature race.

His Telmex backing secured him a place in F1 for 2011 but a strong rookie season saw him resist the pay driver tag. A show of faith from Sauber came as early as the British Grand Prix in July where he was announced as part of an unchanged line-up alongside fellow GP2 graduate Kamui Kobayashi for a second season.

The second year proved more successful than the first as Perez nearly won the second race in Malaysia, eventually settling for second place behind Fernando Alonso's Ferrari. More impressive results came with a third place in Canada and a second at Monza ahead of both Ferraris. Perez was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy at the time but it wasn't enough to convince Luca di Montezemolo to give him a race seat for 2013 and McLaren swooped in to sign him as Lewis Hamilton's replacement.

A dog of a car meant he struggled for results in 2013 and his McLaren relationship lasted just one year before the team decided to offload him. With his career hanging in the balance he was offered a reprieve by Vijay Mallya, who signed him for Force India to partner Nico Hulkenberg in 2014. He took a memorable podium in Bahrain - the team's second ever - but all in all his season was erratic, with Hulkenberg finishing 37 points ahead.

He managed to turn the tables in 2015 and beat Hulkenberg by 20 points while adding more silverware to his trophy cabinet with a podium at the Russian Grand Prix. He remained at Force India in 2016 and took two more podiums in Monaco and Baku while finishing the season 29 points clear of Hulkenberg.

In 2017 he was partnered by Esteban Ocon and got the better of the Mercedes junior driver over the course of the year. However, Ocon was closer than many expected and Force India's management had to step in to stop the pair squabbling over a number of on-track collisions during the season.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Undoubtedly fast but his opportunity to secure a drive with a top team at the right time may have passed him by.

Career High
His first F1 podium, which was so nearly a victory, at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2012. It gave him the recognition in the paddock he needed to ultimately secure a place at McLaren in 2013.

Career Low
Getting the boot from McLaren after just one year in his dream job.

Quotes
"Competition. I love to compete - every single day. Not only in driving, also on the physical and mental side."

"Off track, I'm pretty wild to tell you the truth!"

Trivia
Perez is very superstitious and wears a number of lucky bracelets every time he races. One is from his grandmother.

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