Sergio Perez says Racing Point is still playing catch-up in Formula 1’s midfield battle, owing to the nature of last year’s change of ownership.
Racing Point – under its Force India guise – endured a fraught 2018 season amid former owner Vijay Mallya’s financial troubles, leading to a takeover by Lawrence Stroll.
Stroll’s investment gave the green light to a raft of upgrade packages, as well as longer-term planning that includes an expansion of Racing Point’s factory and relocation of its windtunnel activities.
But Racing Point arrived pre-season with a ‘vanilla’ car – in the words of tech boss Andrew Green – given the relatively late takeover, in terms of 2019 planning.
“You have to remember that the new administration came in very late in the year, so we are a bit behind schedule ideally, but we’re playing catch up,” Perez said.
“I think obviously we are in the same boat as everyone in the midfield. It will be very important to see where we stand with our upgrades.
“If they work as planned, we should be making a good step, but I think everyone is in the same boat, so it is all relative and we will see where we are.”
Perez, whose sixth place in Azerbaijan helped Racing Point move into fifth spot in the Constructors’ Championship, reiterated his confidence in the squad’s potential.
“I see a bright future here where in the previous years it was always about the next year where I was going,” he said.
“Here I see good progress and am feeling very comfortable. I’m very happy, so we’ll see what happens.”
