Perez says Racing Point is "best team outside Ferrari and Mercedes"

Sergio Perez believes Racing Point, formerly Force India, are the best team to be at outside of the top two; Mercedes and Ferrari.

Perez is about to start his sixth season for the team in 2019, having joined them after just one season at McLaren.

"I've been here a lot more years than I thought I was going to be," the Mexican admitted to RaceFans. "I'm comfortable here. I'm very optimistic. I think if you cannot be in a Ferrari or a Mercedes team, then Force India is the right place to be."

Perez was a key figure in forcing the Force India team into administration last season in July. However, the side were eventually saved from liquidation by a consortium that was run by Lawrence Stroll. Now, Perez believes the team can increase their standards and expectations.

"I think there is a huge potential in this team," Perez added. "I've been the best of the rest for the last two years (2016 and 17), very close to be for a third year in a row. There is a prospect to go forward. We'll see how things look for the next year, but definitely I'm very excited about the future of this team.