Perez: Packed 2020 schedule a ‘big challenge’
Sergio Perez had to miss the British Grand Prix after testing positive for coronavirus
Racing Point’s Sergio Perez believes it won’t be easy going from no racing to a packed 2020 schedule when the season gets underway.
Teams are now back to work after the FIA-enforced shutdown ended and are preparing for the first race on July 5 at the Red Bull Ring.
It is the first of eight rounds to be released for the European leg of the season, a run which sees only two weekends off up until the Italian Grand Prix at the start of September.
BREAKING: The opening 8 races of a revised 2020 calendar are now confirmed
All 8 are currently set to be closed events, operating under the strongest safety procedures
Further races will be announced in the coming weeks pic.twitter.com/vQioKOAkQo
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 2, 2020
And Perez has no doubt that going from no action to intense racing will prove a “big challenge”.
“We actually started proper training [last week],” Perez told the F1 Nation podcast.
“We know that it’s going to be a big challenge to go straight back into racing.
“We’ve never spent so much time without the driving the cars. So physically, it’s going to be very demanding and I am working hard on that. I’m very happy that finally we have a date that we can go racing.
“Since I’m 12 or 11 I’ve never spent this much time at home. It’s been great… but of course, I miss my driving, I miss my adrenaline, the competition, my mates, the team.”
While Racing Point’s ‘pink Mercedes’ has caused quite a stir, it’s expected to be fast, which makes Perez even more excited to go racing in 2020.
“Obviously when you have a good car on your hands, you want to go racing, you want to be at the racetrack every weekend; it’s not that if you have a bad car the last thing you want to do is race,” he explained.
“[More than] the feeling if I can win or be in the podium, I want to compete, to have that feeling of qualifying, of racing… making sure I score the points, that feeling you have as a driver throughout the years is something I’m missing quite a lot.”
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