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Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez on Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto

Perez "hopes" this F1 rookie is chosen by Audi

1 October at 08:00

Sergio Perez has been extremely impressed with this year's rookies in the 2024 Formula 1 season. Newcomers such as Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman, Franco Colapinto and Jack Doohan have shown a changing of the guard in the premier class of motorsport, and Bearman and Colapinto have shown their class in their F1 appearances.

Antonelli, Bearman and Doohan will all be on the grid for the 2025 season, and Colapinto, who replaced Logan Sargeant before the Italian Grand Prix, has been able to keep up with teammate Alex Albon many times this season. Perez has commented on the performance of all these rookies, with very positive comments about everyone.

"They've done a great job. And I think especially with them, when you think about it, they are not the guys winning, but then they come in and they do a fantastic job," the Mexican said.

Bearman filled in for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after Carlos Sainz came down with appendicitis, and he impressed immediately. The performance in Jeddah earned him a seat at Haas F1 for the 2025 season. Colapinto has been performing well since replacing Sargeant, but due to the arrival of Carlos Sainz at Williams, Audi seems to be the only remaining option for now.

Perez "hopes" Audi chooses Colapinto

Perez has been impressed by Colapinto's performances in F1, and therefore, the Red Bull driver has his say on whether that seat at Sauber, who become Audi in 2026, should be taken by the Argentine: "I really hope for Franco that he's able to find that Audi seat for him. It would be a shame that after the job that he's doing, he doesn't get a seat for next year. Because again, that can risk his career going back to F2 and not having a straightforward year, having a couple of stalls with both cars. I think F2 has some work to do with their championship. But yeah, I think it's great to see these young drivers coming in, being so confident and straight away delivering great results. It's always great to see that," Perez said.

This article was created in collaboration with Jeroen Immink

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