Force India ‘very close’ to re-signing Perez

Editor

Force India are “very close” to signing a new deal with Sergio Perez, they just need to iron out a few details with his sponsors.

Perez joined Force India in 2014 and has helped elevate the team up the order, fourth in last year’s Constructors’ Championship and again this season.

With F1’s top three teams all having their line-ups resolved for next season, or at least a mere formality, Perez is chasing a fifth successive campaign with Force India.

Chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer told Autosport: “We’re very close with Checo.

“[The delay is] nothing to do with him.

“It’s no secret he has had support from some of his Mexican backers ever since he’s been in the sport.

“The difficulty with Checo is you have to almost do two contracts at the same time.

“With Checo, we’re completely in agreement. We now have to finalise what we do with his backers.

“There’s always a negotiation – ‘I want this and that’ – before you come to conclusion.”

He added: “We want him. He tells me he wants to stay here so unless he’s not telling the truth…

“We hope to keep both drivers for next year and they proved [at Monza] they can race together.”