Perez and Senna burnish Formula One credentials

Even if the Malaysian Grand Prix ultimately stands out as an aberration, with Fernando Alonso celebrating an unlikely Ferrari victory, it could be a defining moment in the Formula One careers of Sergio Perez and Bruno Senna.

In a rain-hit race that may also have hastened Felipe Massa's departure from Maranello, the two Latin American drivers stood out.

"He was a revelation." McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh said of Perez, who finished second for Sauber to become the first Mexican on the F1 podium for 41 years.

"I imagine he's put a bit of pressure on Mr Massa, that's my guessing on that one," he told Sky television with a mischievous grin.

"I don't know what the odds are for him switching teams before China, but I think there must be some consideration there," added Whitmarsh, whose 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton clashed repeatedly with Massa last year.

Cynics might say that the odds on the 22-year-old Perez joining Ferrari will only have been enhanced by his failure to pass Alonso, now the championship leader, in the closing laps.

The Mexican is also a Ferrari driver, a member of the Italian team's youth academy who occasionally tests in the Ferrari simulator, while his team use Ferrari engines.

Ferrari, with an ugly car that proved uncompetitive in the Australian season opener, was desperate for a morale-boosting victory at Sepang after the weather played into its hands and Perez looked the only man who could stop it.

While there was no evidence of any collusion and Peter Sauber dismissed any suggestion of a team order, the Mexican's performance announced his arrival as a real talent.

It will also have been welcomed in Austin, the Texan city that is due to stage the closest race to Mexico when Formula One returns to the United States, Ferrari's biggest export market, in November.

The perception of Perez as a 'pay driver', given his opportunity in Formula One because of his links with key Mexican sponsors including the world's richest man Carlos Slim, now looks like a footnote to a much more promising story.

Brazilian Massa, whose future at Ferrari is under increasing scrutiny, finished 15th after retiring in Melbourne.

He has not been on the podium since 2010 and the paddock speculation is moving up a gear race by race, even as Ferrari tries to dampen it down.

Senna, nephew of the late triple champion Ayrton, was the quickest Brazilian on track at Sepang and triggered a reappraisal of his talents with a fine drive to sixth place after being last at the re-start.

His eight points were more than Williams had managed in all of last season but it was the manner in which he grabbed them that stood out.

His overtaking move on Michael Schumacher, Ayrton's old rival, was rich in symbolism but it also indicated that he too could be much more than a driver who owed his place to sponsorship as much as speed.

"For the first time now I believe Bruno Senna can cut it in Formula One," declared former F1 driver and Sky commentator Martin Brundle.

"I haven't seen anything up until now that convinced me in the same way that this does."

The third grand prix of the 20-race season takes place in China on April 15.

Reuters in London

(China Daily 04/04/2012 page11)