#11 | Sergio Perez | Sahara Force India

Date of Birth: 26/01/1990 | Nationality: Mexican | Twitter: @SChecoPerez

Career:

Pérez had an impressive junior formula record, with the Mexican emerging as a promising talent after a couple of eye-catching drives in British Formula Three. He progressed to GP2 and finished as the runner-up in his second season.

Pérez joined Formula One in 2011 after signing a deal to race with Sauber. He impressed with his tyre preservation abilities early on as he finished his maiden race in seventh place, from which he was later disqualified due to a technical irregularity. He eventually scored his first points in Spain but a huge accident during qualifying in Monaco forced him out for two races and the effects of the shunt left him feeling below par for several rounds. He nonetheless amassed a decent amount of points and remained with Sauber for 2012.

He began the season brightly as an early switch to dry tyres in Malaysia left him in second place and hounding Fernando Alonso for the lead of the race. A minor error proved costly but he still secured a popular podium for Sauber. Further podiums followed in Canada and Italy as while he qualified poorly, he was able to execute an alternate strategy to perfection. McLaren noticed and promptly signed him up for 2013, despite his iffy qualifying performances and late season erratic driving.

His switch to McLaren promised much but delivered little as the Woking based team produced their worst car in a generation, leaving Pérez and team-mate Jenson Button floundering in the midfield. Pérez impressed when tyre preservation was paramount - such as in Bahrain and India - but too often he failed to shine and did not convince the team sufficiently to be rewarded with a seat for 2014. Instead, Pérez found refuge at Force India.