Perez: A World Championship Contender?

So as 2013 is slowly creeping towards us, Sergio Perez will have only one thing on his mind.

The Drivers World Championship.

Aside from the 2009 season, McLaren have always produced a car which is extremely competitive and allows their drivers to challenge for the top spot on the Driver's Championship Leaderboard. Jenson Button, without question, will almost certainly be challenging for the title in the 2013 season.

But what to make of their new driver..

Sergio Perez, a driver who has undoubtedly shone, in his first few seasons in a F1 car, will have to perform to his maximum potential if he is to challenge the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso in his new team. Martin Whitmarsh has previously commented on Perez's lack of fitness,  and whilst the Mexian driver may have the ambition and greed for the Championship, will it be enough for him to win the title in the 2013 season.

Another aspect we have to take into account is the leadership of the team. Now that Lewis Hamilton has left for Mercedes, surely Jenson Button will hold a similar position to that of Fernando Alonso in Ferrari. The Brit will want the car to be moudled to what he relishes in and that will surely dampen Perez's chances later on in the season. If Button is granted the position of team leader, it will virtually be impossible for the Mexican to challenge Jenson in the races. We must remember Perez is still young and has a lot to learn if he is to become a World Champion in the future.

So, will we see Perez at the top of the leaderboard this time next year? 

If Jenson Button has anything to do with it, probably not..

Mclaren: Button and His New Team Mate..

Today, we see Lewis Hamilton leave the Mclaren garage and head off into the unknown with his new team, Mercedes. Filling the shoes of a legend like Michael Schumacher must be a daunting task in itself, but the increasingly poor form must be a concern for Hamilton, a man who, for his whole career, has been near enough at the top of the leaderboards, fighting for those World Championships.

The same cannot be said for the man who is replacing Lewis at Mclaren. Sergio Perez, the raw Mexican, makes his move from Sauber, a team who were unlikely to offer their driver the opportunities for success like Mclaren can. Whilst Perez has been on the podium a few times over the course of the season, he has taken a severe drop in form since signing a contract with Mclaren.

One can only wonder how long the UK based team will stand for such poor performances.

And what of Jenson Button? The Frome man will surely be the undisputed No 1 driver, now that Hamilton has left. It remains to be seen whether or not Perez will be allowed to challenge Button in next years' races, but the Mexican still has every opportunity to outclass his team mate in qualifying.

This will also be an interesting point in Mclaren's history.

Clearly, Lewis Hamilton is a world class driver, as is Jenson Button. However, Hamilton, on most occasions, is in a league of his own and pushes his car to the absolute limit. The pace that Hamilton had at Mclaren may not be a true indicator of the speed the team has. We will only have to look at Perez and Button next year to see if the Mclaren's pace lives up to that of Hamilton's.

This remains to be seen.

Why the F1 2012 title was Alonso's to lose..

18:10pm.
I've just experienced the most intense race for a long while and it delivered prehaps the most important conclusion of all..Sebastian Vettel is the 3 time World Champion. Going into the race it looked as if Vettel had the championship under his belt, Alonso would have to at least be on the podium for a chance of beating the German.

Like most things in Formula 1, nothing can be taken for granted. The first lap had yet to be completed and Vettel found himself at the back of the pack. A knock from Senna had sent the Red Bull tumbling down the order, leaving Alonso a glimer of hope. However, as Vettel has shown on many occasions, he does not give up without a fight and by the time the chequered flag fell after 71 laps of pure world class racing, Vettel, somehow, managed to retain his World Championship.

Huge credit must go to Fernando Alonso for his efforts, both in the race and the season. He came 2nd to Jenson Button after starting 7th on the grid, resulting in him being only 3 points behind the Red Bull after all the racing had been completed.

 But should the Spaniard have won the title much earlier in the season?

Halfway through and it seemed that Alonso was out of reach for everyone. Startling performances throughout the season ensured he was regarded as the driver of the season, obtaining fantastic results with only the third fastest car on the grid. However, accidents which were no fault of his own led to DNF's, allowing the ever present Vettel to keep pushing until he was able to overtake Alonso at the final hurdle.

When I look back at this season, I see Fernando Alonso as my F1 2012 World Champion. He did things that no one thought was possible. he led for the majority of the season and only lacked the pace when it really counted. I have huge respect for the driver and I look forward to see what he brings to the 2013 season.

On the topic of next year, whilst we are yet to see the updates on the cars, I have my top 6 predictions already:

1. FERNANDO ALONSO
2. JENSON BUTTON.
3. SEBASTIAN VETTEL.
4. SERGIO PEREZ.
5. LEWIS HAMILTON.
6. MARK WEBBER

Thank you for reading this, and I'll see you at Melbourne!