F1 2015 Head-to-Head: Nico Hulkenberg vs. Sergio Perez at Force India
In Formula One, teams are often reflections of their respective driver line-ups, a concept that is especially true at Force India heading into the 2015 season.
When Vijay Mallya took control of the outfit—then under the guise of Spyker—at the end of 2007, the team were rooted to the rear of the field.
And it was mirrored in their driver pairing as a fading Giancarlo Fisichella was placed alongside Adrian Sutil, the personification of mediocrity, for 2008, a debut season which, predictably, brought zero points.
Fisichella's remarkable second-place finish at Spa the following season—which secured Force India's first F1 points—was a breakthrough moment for the team, yet the choice of replacement for the Ferrari-bound Italian, Toro Rosso reject Vitantonio Liuzzi, highlighted their tinpot nature.
It remained that way—Sutil and Liuzzi toddling along—until 2011, when the latter was replaced by Paul di Resta, who helped the team break into the top six in the constructors' championship for the first time.
Nico Hulkenberg's arrival as a replacement for Sutil in 2012 saw Force India take another giant leap, passing the 100-point barrier in a single season for the first time, although the decision to bring Sutil back for '13 represented a regression to their old ways.
The dropping of both Sutil and Di Resta for 2014 in favour of a returning Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, though, marked a significant change in mindset for the team as Force India—no doubt sensing an opportunity with the revolutionary V6 turbo regulations—became hungry and ambitious.
Competing with more credibility than ever before, the team challenged the might of McLaren for fifth place throughout the campaign but ultimately fell just short, despite scoring 155 points.
The fact that both Perez and Hulkenberg were willing to sign up for year No. 2—ensuring that the team will retain a given driver pairing for the first time since 2009—is a testament to the team's huge amount of progress in a relatively short period of time.
With a Mercedes power unit and access to the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany, the ever-improving Force India are now a very attractive, if not the best option for young drivers eager to prove a point.
And there are plenty of points for Hulkenberg and Perez to prove in 2015.
This year will see the German enter the Last Chance Saloon as far as his future prospects are concerned.
Widely considered to have the necessary talent required to become a grand prix and title winner, Hulkenberg's stock took a knock in 2014.
Not as a result of his own performances, you understand—how could it after a run of 10 consecutive points finishes in the first half of the year?—but as a direct consequence of the exploits of Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas, who came to be regarded as the true stars of tomorrow.
His slight fall from grace, in a year which resulted in a number of young drivers rising to prominence, made Hulkenberg—along with Romain Grosjean, whose career prospects were also harmed due to Lotus' decline—little more than a bystander when the driver market burst into life and seats at Ferrari and McLaren were available.
For all his consistency, his failure to secure that elusive podium finish—as we explained last September—means a huge black mark remains on his F1 record, which is further emphasised when his ability to get regular results deserts him.
Following his bizarre implosion in last year's Hungarian Grand Prix—which saw Hulkenberg's race and scoring run end after committing the cardinal sin of crashing into his team-mate—the German went on to score just 27 points in the last eight races, the majority of which came in the double-points race in Abu Dhabi.
With Hulkenberg's career seemingly at a standstill, Perez may sense an opportunity to establish himself as the team's primary focus this season.
The Mexican's 2014 campaign was geared toward repairing his reputation after a humbling experience at McLaren in 2013, which led to him being dumped in favour of a rookie, Kevin Magnussen, following a single season.
From that perspective, last year was a triumph for Perez, who secured Force India's second-ever podium finish in just his fourth race for the team in Bahrain, before going on to leap from 15th on the grid to sixth in Austria.
Having successfully steadied and stabilised his career—reminding the F1 fraternity of his qualities—the next challenge is to mount a resurgence.
Perez is a paradoxical performer in the sense that he combines a tremendous, almost Jenson Button-esque feel for tyre management with a style that forces him to use every inch, and sometimes more, of the track.
On good days, it makes the 25-year-old one of the most spectacular drivers to watch, but on the occasions when Perez gets it wrong, it can make him look foolish, with his impulsiveness resulting in avoidable accidents—such as his shunts with Felipe Massa and Sutil in Canada and the United States, respectively, in 2014.
If he can refine his style, staying out of trouble yet retaining all that is good about his driving, there is no reason why Perez—as unfancied as he is alongside a performer of Hulkenberg's calibre—cannot spring a surprise this season.
Force India's gradual rate of improvement over the last three years in particular has resulted in the team having one of the most dynamic, compatible driver partnerships currently in F1.
For Hulkenberg's ability to record the highest possible finish for the team on a given weekend—something he does more often than not—there is Perez's habit of nabbing unexpected podium finishes, the perfect mix for an outfit knocking on the door of the sport's "Big Five" teams.
The team are currently enjoying a golden period in their eight-year history and it's up to Hulkenberg and Perez to take full advantage of it and put themselves in the shop window if either are to fulfil their potential.
