Perez wasn’t happy at McLaren: "Not an easy place to be"

McLaren no easy place

In the podcast Starting Grid on Motorsport-Total.com, Matt Bishop, former head of communications at McLaren, talks about Perez's time at McLaren. "McLaren is not an easy place to be," says Bishop, who also worked with Perez at the time. "It was not an easy place politically at the time."

Perez only drove for McLaren for one season, in 2013, and had to leave at the end of the season.

According to Bishop, many drivers at the time - led by team boss Ron Dennis - were unable to reach their full potential. "The drivers who flourished there were usually either exceptionally talented - like Senna - or psychologically extremely strong."

Not the first choice

What also didn't help Perez was that he wasn't exactly the first choice for McLaren either. After all, he replaced Lewis Hamilton, who left for Mercedes. "It felt a bit like a divorce," says Bishop, who recalls that McLaren had previously funded Hamilton's entire career. "They had paid for everything. Lewis and McLaren seemed inseparable at the time."

There were a number of drivers in contention for the seat and Perez was eventually chosen. "But it was not sure if that was the right decision and if everyone in the team was happy with it," Bishop said. It was therefore soon clear that Perez did not fit within the culture at McLaren. "He was clearly unhappy."

Perez lost the duel to Jenson Button and left for Force India in 2014.