Ricciardo Will Have it Tough with Hulkenberg – Perez

Sergio Perez believes it will be initially hard for Daniel Ricciardo to compete with Nico Hulkenberg on the track when he starts to race with Renault next season.

The Mexican driver spent a few seasons racing alongside Hulkenberg at the Silverstone based outfit and knows about the German’s racing talent.

“The Ricciardo to Renault [move] is quite an interesting one,” said Perez.

“I think… to have someone like him in the midfield will just show how strong the midfield is at the moment.

“I think if things stay the same for next year, and the midfield is so close together, he’s going to enjoy a lot of competitive [battles].

“It will be interesting to see him with Hulkenberg as well because I think he’s going to have a hard time there with Nico.”

Perez’s future in F1 may take a new turn as the Mexican is said to be on McLaren’s short list for 2019. Earlier, it was rumoured that he would be extending the contract with Force India for next season.

While talking about his potential new teammate, Perez said it is hard to assess Stroll since the youngster has been with only Williams since he graduated to F1.

“I think it’s so hard to know someone as a driver when you’re not being alongside him,” added Perez.

“There’s so much difference in Formula 1 across teams, performance between cars you see, a difference in 2.5 seconds, it’s very hard to judge a driver.

“I think he did not too bad alongside Felipe [Massa], who’s a very experienced driver, I think right now Williams is in a very difficult position so it’s very hard to judge.

“I think he has grown up, he has a very good experience now with two years at Williams so we’ll see what he’s able to do in that regard. It’s very hard to judge someone, not your teammate.”