Perez believes Ricciardo will have "hard time" with new team-mate

Force India man Sergio Perez believes that Daniel Ricciardo will have a "hard time" with his new team-mate Nico Hulkenberg for next season.

Ricciardo is joing Renault next season following his announcement that he will be leaving Red Bull after more than a decade spent at the energy drink brand.

Renault driver Hulkenberg will be the Aussie's team-mate next season and the German used to race at Force India alongside current driver Perez.

Perez believes that Ricciardo will find it hard to match Hulkenberg when he makes the switch to Renault.

"The Ricciardo to Renault (move) is quite an interesting one," Perez admitted to MotorsportWeek. "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."

Lance Stroll looks like the likely team-mate for Perez next season, following his father's takeover of Force India.

Perez was asked to rate Stroll's ability and replied: "I think it's so hard to know someone as a driver when you're not being alongside 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."