Welcome to another edition of the ‘Let’s get to know…’ series, hosted by me Scott Parkin of FVTV. This series aims to, whilst keeping it short and sweet, provide an insight into various people from inside the Formula Virtual paddock ranging from the famous drivers to the behind-the-scenes staff at some of the teams. Today’s guest made his Formula Virtual debut in 2018 after taking two junior series titles in 2015 & 2017. Last season, at the British V-Prix, he took his – and his team’s – maiden race victory along with a second place two races later on his way to sixth in the Drivers’ Championship; making 2020 his best season in FV. He is FIRST Motorsport’s Felix Perez. Scott Parkin: Tell us about yourself as a person, and how would you describe yourself as a driver? Felix Perez: As a person I would say I like to keep to myself but I am determined and used to working hard to achieve my goals. As a driver I am instinctual, I feel like I am naturally quick and a good overtaker. I always feel like I perform better when I can be aggressive on a soft compound, for example. I think having Will as a teammate is interesting because he and I are opposites in quite a few ways, so I can learn quite a bit from him. SP: What do you most enjoy doing in your free time? FP: Growing up I always played a lot of football, and I still really enjoy playing with friends when I can. It’s also a great way to stay in shape without putting on too much weight. I also enjoy watching football, my club was always my home club: Veracruz. Unfortunately the team went under a couple years ago so I still need to find a new team. SP: What music do you listen to the most? FP: My go to is Latin pop, but I am really expanding what I listen to a lot now that I spend a lot of time in the US and all over the world. SP: What is your favourite food? FP: Probably Cochinita Pibil, a way of preparing pork we have in Mexico. Especially when it’s served with tacos. SP: Do you have any fears? FP: I don’t have any of the cliche fears. I’d say the main thing is whenever I’m riding in a car or plane I am always wishing I was in control, even though in the case of flying I don’t know how to! SP: What is your greatest achievement outside of motorsport? FP: Probably winning a big state wide football tournament in Veracruz with the friends I grew up playing with. SP: If you had not become a racing driver, what do you think you would have been? FP: I have always thought being an airplane pilot would be cool, although I know little about it. It’s kind of similar to driving and you get to travel a lot and see the world. Besides that I’m really not sure, my dream has always been to be a driver. SP: Who is your idol outside of FV? FP: I don’t really have any idols. The main person I respect and have learned a lot from is my dad. His wisdom and hard work really has allowed me to pursue my dreams. SP: Who is your idol in the world of FV? FP: I never really took inspiration from any individual person. I just enjoy driving and the sense of speed and turned out to be pretty good at it! SP: Who are your closest friends in FV, drivers or anyone else? FP: Of the drivers I get on well with Sergio (Alvarez) and James (Vasquez). We have similar backgrounds and they are just fun guys to be around. Besides them I enjoy working with the guys at FIRST, I’ve been there long enough and we’ve travelled together so frequently that it feels like a second family. SP: What do you enjoy most about being a driver in Formula Virtual? FP: Getting to drive the fastest cars in the world and competing against the best teams and drivers. The cars are so much fun: not many driving aids, they sound amazing, and they are a real challenge to drive. Likewise competing at such a high level always pushes me to better myself and help the team get better. SP: What has been your personal favourite race so far and why? FP: Has to be the British V-Prix this past year. Winning that race was the biggest moment of my life so far. But I will say my first FV race in Mexico was also really emotional, I was not used to receiving that level of support at the track. It is amazing every time we go there. SP: Do you consider anyone as a rival? FP: Klaas is probably the driver that is closest to a rival for me. He’s a little older than me so I’ve been chasing him through the junior categories, and now we have had a few incidents together in Formula Virtual. I think the fact that we are both aggressive drivers also contributes. SP: Could you see yourself ever driving for another team? If yes, who could you see yourself driving for and why? FP: It could happen at some point, few drivers spend their whole career with one team. But I don’t see myself moving any time soon, FIRST have been the ones that gave me most of my big breaks to get into FV. Then combine that with the fact that we are now capable of winning races and have become a top team, there’s no real reason to want to leave. And really how it has worked out has been great timing. 2018 was bad for the team but allowed me to learn without much pressure, and now as I feel I am proving myself in FV the team is proving itself also. SP: And finally, who would you like to nominate as the next person to do a ‘Let’s get to know…’? FP: I’d personally like to nominate Rai Miyamoto. I think he’s one of the most interesting characters in the paddock and I want to learn more about him. SP: Thank you so much for taking the time to do this for us James, best of luck for the upcoming season!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|