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Perez on Tsunoda: 'He has the talent, speed and mentality to cope'

08:00, 02 Apr

Updated: 12:06, 02 Apr

byEwan Gale

Former Red Bull driver Sergio Perez believes Yuki Tsunoda has the "right mentality" to succeed with the team in Formula 1.

Tsunoda was announced as Max Verstappen's teammate for the rest of the season, replacing New Zealander Liam Lawson after just two races.

The Japanese driver will make his debut for the Milton Keynes-based outfit at his home race at Suzuka this weekend and Perez believes Tsunoda can flourish.

'I really want them to do well'

“I really want the team to do well, as I have a lot of friends at the team,” said Perez, speaking to F1.com. “I spent four years with them and I want to see them doing well. It’s just a very hard thing to talk about.

“Right now, I’m on the outside, I’ve been in touch with some team members there – but when you’re not there internally, it’s hard to know [what’s happening].

“For me, it was very simple, the car is just quite difficult to get 100% out of it, to get the confidence out of it – and the things I struggled with, even Adrian [Newey, the team’s former design chief] talked about them.

“But I want to wish them the best. Woody, who is a great friend of mine, is engineering Yuki now so I really hope they do well.

“Yuki has the talent, has the speed and, more than that, you need the mentality to cope with it. I think he has the right mentality and the right attitude to cope with it. I hope they will succeed.”