Mexico’s Sergio Perez completed his move to the Force India Formula One team on Thursday.
Perez was dropped after just a year at McLaren, but the British-based Indian outfit were quick to add him to their roster.
The 23-year-old’s switch leaves Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil, last year’s Force India drivers, facing an uncertain future in the sport.
Scottish driver Di Resta had expected to lose his seat and has expressed hope he may join Sauber, with a drive for Mercedes-Benz in the DTM touring car series also a possibility.
Guadalajara-born Perez completes Force India’s driver team for next year, with Nico Hulkenberg last month confirmed as the other racer.
Force India said in a statement: “Sahara Force India is delighted to announce the signing of Sergio Perez as race driver for the team in 2014 and beyond. The 23-year-old Mexican completes Sahara Force India’s 2014 lineup alongside Nico Hulkenberg and helps create one of the most exciting pairings on the grid.”
Perez picked up just 35 points during this year, far less than his teammate Jensen Button, with 60, who early in the season often complained about his younger sidekick’s aggressive driving when they were directly racing each other.
The Mexican had said when leaving McLaren that he would look for the best possible package to fight for wins, suggesting perhaps he did not feel McLaren were capable of that.
However, he believes he can thrive as part of Force India’s emerging team and he said: “Coming here was always my first choice and I’m really happy everything has now been confirmed.”
“This is a young team with a lot of determination and they’ve produced competitive cars for the last few years. It’s all change for next season with the new regulations, but I already have a good feeling about 2014,” Perez added.
Perez had earned his move to McLaren, to replace the Mercedes-bound Lewis Hamilton, by finishing three times on the podium for Sauber last year.
However, the entire McLaren team struggled throughout this year.
Perez is to bring significant financial support to Force India because he is sponsored by Mexican telecommunications company Telmex, which just happens to be owned by Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and