Second fastest on Day 2 of pre-season testing, Sergio Perez hopes his pink Mercedes, as it has been dubbed by the media, “performs like” the real Mercedes car.
Racing Point unveiled the RP20 at the beginning of pre-season testing.
Immediately it was noted that the new Racing Point, which is powered by a Mercedes engine and fitted with their gearbox, bore a resemblance to last year’s Mercedes W10.
Rival teams are reportedly not impressed, calling it a copycat car, while Haas team boss Guenther Steiner has told Racing Point to “think before they talk” after the Silverstone team heavily criticised Haas’ relationship with Ferrari.
Perez says he’s OK with the controversy, especially after finishing second fastest at the Circuit de Catalunya on Thursday.
“I would hope it would perform like their car but I think it’s still very early days,” he said to Motorsport.com.
“I think we have so many things to go through. A lot of working [to do], and all the team is working flat out.
“But what is really good about this season is to finally have a car that is going to be very, very close to what we have in Melbourne. So that’s a very positive thing you know.
“We can focus and learn so much compared to other seasons, where we were always late with our car.
“I think we are on the right on the right track and definitely the car has potential. So, hopefully we can we can start strong.”
Swapping to the Mercedes design for 2020, Racing Point has effectively changed paths with the design of its car.
Perez says it is risk “worth taking”.
“After so many years you are used to kind of your design and to change that dramatically, your car is changing quite a lot,” he added.
“The way it operates is very different. So it’s it’s a huge risk, but I think it’s worth taking it.
“Obviously there are plenty of things that we got to work on, you know. I think we have a good base, I think it’s something that has good potential.
“But then we’ve got to work very hard in the coming days to to make sure that we arrive in Melbourne as well prepared as possible.”
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