Ricciardo will have a 'hard time' with Hulkenberg - Perez

Sergio Perez has called Daniel Ricciardo's decision to leave Red Bull for Renault an "interesting one" but thinks the Australian could have a "hard time" dealing with his new team-mate, Nico Hulkenberg, from the 2019 onwards having spent three years with him at Force India.

Ricciardo's choice to jump ship to Renault, a midfield team, from Red Bull, a championship-contending team, has polarised fans and his colleagues, some of whom think he has made the right choice while others questioning the logic of it.

Perez has called it "interesting" but he is sure of one thing - Hulkenberg could be tough to handle as a team-mate.

“The Ricciardo to Renault [move] is quite an interesting one,” said Perez.

“I think… to have someone like him in the midfield will just show how strong the midfield is at the moment. I think if things stay the same for next year, and the midfield is so close together, he’s going to enjoy a lot of competitive [battles].

“It will be interesting to see him with Hulkenberg as well because I think he’s going to have a hard time there with Nico.”

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Following the takeover of Force India by Lawrence Stroll, Perez looks set to be partnered by his son, Lance Stroll, for the 2019 season, but Perez admits it is hard to give an opinion on the young Canadian until he teams up with him.

“There’s so much difference in Formula 1 across teams, performance between cars you see, a difference in 2.5 seconds, it’s very hard to judge a driver," said the Mexican.

“I think he did not too bad alongside Felipe [Massa], who’s a very experienced driver, I think right now Williams is in a very difficult position so it’s very hard to judge.

“I think he has grown up, he has very good experience now with two years at Williams so we’ll see what he’s able to do in that regard. It’s very hard to judge someone, not your team-mate.”