Sergio Perez Claims 2020 Formula One Cars Will Smash Lap Records

Racing Point F1 team’s Sergio Perez of Mexico has predicted -- on Instagram Live -- that 2020 Formula One cars will shatter lap records once racing resumes. Ever since the aggressive aerodynamic and tyre regulations were introduced in 2017, F1 cars have broken records at pretty much every circuit on the F1 calendar. Despite the fact that the 2019 aero tweaks were meant to slow down the cars by around a second per lap, the season saw several lap records being broken. The 2020 breed seems no different. 

Racing Point made headlines in pre-season testing back in February with its RP-20 being very similar to the championship-winning Mercedes W10 of 2019. It led to many in the paddock dubbing the car the ‘Pink Mercedes’. This has also caused uneasiness within teams, especially Racing Point’s midfield rivals, over the legality of this design considering technical regulations state that parts have to be independently manufactured by the constructor. 

And the midfield teams’ fear is justified. Racing Point showed ominous pace all throughout testing, at times perilously close to the top three teams. Besides, rather than being bullish about its prospects for this season, Sergio Perez has been showering praise on the RP-20, calling it the ‘favourite’ F1 car he’s driven. This level of confidence and hunger from Perez to go racing is certainly something not seen from him in quite a while, or at all.

This statement certainly serves up a tantalising prospect of how good Racing Point can be once the season begins and also a cheeky comparison to how a similar W10 concept matches up against the more evolved design from the top three teams, especially Mercedes. As things stand, all will be revealed when racing tentatively begins at the French Grand Prix in Paul Ricard on June 28.

But we stress that this is tentative as the resumption of the F1 season is at the behest of the coronavirus pandemic and the world’s response to it, especially the development of an effective vaccine.

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