Sauber and Perez Happy with Malaysia but Want to Keep Improving

Due to a long red flag, major swings in weather and impressive driving, Sergio Perez took second place in Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix. For now, he is being considered the sport's golden boy having taken a mid-tier car to the podium. 

"It is a great day for me. The team did a very good job and I feel very happy for them. It is a really nice feeling to have been on the podium here, but I think victory was also within reach. Twice in the race I was catching Fernando. On the final stint, when I was on the hard tire compound, my tires had degraded quite a lot.," said Perez. 

There was a moment when it was alleged that Perez had not passed Alonso because of team orders, but that seems unlikely. Perez had a minor off that lost him some time, and Sauber and Perez both deny it. Perez finished about 2.3 seconds back of Fernando Alonso. It would not have made sense to push the Ferrari, when Sauber being on the podium is nearly as good as a win. 

Perez seems to have a very realistic way of looking at things. 

"The target is to keep improving our overall performance and the car. We have to push hard and, of course, we have to stay realistic. Although the pace in the race was good we should not forget that this result came after a very special race in extraordinary conditions" said Perez.

The real question is how long will Perez last at Sauber. He has been a Ferrari Driver Academy member since 2010, and with a fading Felipe Massa, it is reasonable to imagine Ferrari could employ him for the second Ferrari. 

Perez's win at Sepang was special in many ways. The race was unique due to the rain and red flag portions, and if it had not been for those conditions, Perez would not have moved up to second place. However, slippery conditions are the great equalizer in racing. The third place car was 12 seconds behind Perez. If Perez had not been such a talented driver, he would not have been able to hold on to second during the last portion of the race. Do not expect to see a similar performance from Perez in the Chinese Grand Prix, but he certainly proved himself as a driver to watch in the future. 

Source: Autosport (1,2)