Vettel has "big shoes to fill" stepping in for Perez - Brawn

Formula 1's managing director motorsports Ross Brawn believes Sebastian Vettel faces a tough ask stepping in for Sergio Perez when he joins Aston Martin next year.

Aside from testing positive for Covid-19 that forced him to miss two races, Perez has enjoyed the best season of his 10-year F1 career, culminating in his maiden victory in Sunday's Sakhir Grand Prix.

The 30-year-old Mexican, however, is without a drive for next season after Racing Point opted to dispense with his services and replace him with Vettel.

It has left Perez with just two options for 2021 - hoping Red Bull prefer him over Alex Albon to partner Max Verstappen, or he takes a sabbatical.

Hailing Perez's win as "thoroughly deserved", Brawn feels Racing Point must now be questioning its decision to release him.

"We all want to see him next year," said Brawn in his regular column. "It’ll be a tragedy if he can’t get a car.

"The team must be thinking about the decisions they have made, losing him when he’s driving so well."

Recognising Vettel has struggled in his final year with Ferrari, Brawn added: "His [Perez's] replacement Sebastian Vettel I’m sure will come back stronger, as he’s in a bit of a trough at the moment.

"But Checo is a guaranteed deal. So that’ll be interesting to see how that develops.

"In a way, Seb has some fairly big shoes to fill now, even if he’s a world champion."

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