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Perez beats Hamilton in Australia by a nose.

No seriously, I want Perez and I think he will but I have a feeling Merc with Hamilton will be very fast.

Hamilton - he's the fastest guy out there & I'd expect him to keep up his pole & a win in every season he's competed in tally.

Perez - I just don't think he's good enough, as a McLaren fan I sincerely hope I'm wrong (about Perez - I'd still like Hamilton to win)

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Close doesn't count

A fascinating question. I think just as interesting is whether Macca or Merc actually improve or not in terms of their outright relative-to-the-field pace in '13 compared to '12. I expect Perez in the McLaren to be super quick - maybe even a match for Button - but I'm also, as a Lewis fan, expecting him to bring a little extra something to Merc, although not perhaps in terms of tyre degradation, which must be the biggest concern for a Hamilton supporter in 2013.

I haven't voted as I honestly haven't a clue which might win first, it would purely be who I would want to win first

Unless the Merc is a reasonable starter and can make the top 4 I can't see Lewis winning. Hopefully I'm wrong though and all he needs is a car able to get into Q3 consistently and he can have a shot at it within the first 5 races.

I hope to god Perez wins at least once, but I just don't see it coming off his second half of 2012. If anything I think he'll score podiums but a win will be unlikely if the other top 4 have anything to say about it.

My bets are that Hamilton to win first.

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Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes

One thing we do know is that Perez is no Lewis Hamilton he will not jump into that Mclaren and do a Lewis 2007 .
Perez may not make it to the podium at all he's under a lot of pressure probably self made and if he reads forums and takes them seriously . Lewis at Mclaren is a big ask and a tough act to follow for a young gun like Perez. I'm sure Mclaren will try to ease the inevitable comparison and coach him not to think about Lewis just to do his own thing but Jenson the self appointed number one pulling team company and car design around him and in I'm not baby sitting mode will use his wily cunning to chip away at Perez's confidence .
Whitmarsh cannot help Perez with this because he gave Jenson power .
For those reasons I voted Hamilton for podium because the car doesn't have to be perfect he will drag it to the podium by the scruff of its ridiculous chassis if they haven't changed it by then .

I don't understand why you feel Perez (with 2 years F1 experience) couldn't jump into the McLaren and do as well as Lewis did in his rookie year if the car is good enough?

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Multi 21 or Catch 22?!

It ain't hating just 'cause it's not love

It's not the car I'm concerned about I have seen little that makes me feel there is anything outstanding about Perez so I will eat one of my many stylish hats if he comes anywhere near Lewis in 2007

There could be the argument that can Lewis perform in a car to the same standard as SP with the same performance as the Sauber has been?

Noone knows but we may just find out!

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Multi 21 or Catch 22?!

It ain't hating just 'cause it's not love

Perez will be the first to win for sure. He is quick remember Italy and Malaysia he looked good for the wins reminds me of a young senna, prost, schumacher.

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Sauber was a very good car at least at the first half of the season. IMo a top driver would have delivered better results than Perez & Kobayashi did. Sauber drivers have both underpeformed

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"Everything you can imagine is real." Pablo Picasso

That would be true if Mclaren and F1 were the only series Lewis has shown form in but it isn't he is a known quantity it is Perez who has yet to prove himself and we shall see what he can do next season . I have no doubt that Lewis will bring the best the Silver Arrow has to offer , I cannot say with any type of certainty that we will know just how good the Mclaren is by Perez .
I do not see him out qualifying Vettel ,Alonso ,Raikkonen or Massa Webber and perhaps even Jenson none of those are easy to overtake regardless of how fast the pursuer is and that is without Lewis , Rosberg and Maldonado who are also no slouches at qualifying and race speed .

I believe some on here are blinded by the fact that its Hamilton's seat he has taken and your desire for him to somehow upstage Lewis has clouded your judgement and you have forgotten who else is on the track their are six drivers in cars as fast or faster than Mclaren and you tell me you seriously believe that Sergio Perez will sail past at least four of them or perhaps all six 👀

I'm not saying he won't or that I wouldn't like him to do well but I seriously doubt it and that type of over zealous expectation won't help him one bit .

Fascinating question and I'm stumped. No idea.

Lets say Perez in a tyre-saver free-for-all in Oz for a laugh.

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"I am a believer, but I start each Grand Prix with 195 liters of fuel behind me," he explains. "I don't rely entirely on God, I rely on Prost."

IMO it depends on the cars.

I don't believe Mercedes will have resolved any of their issues, particularly the tyre ones that have had them stumped for three years. With Pirelli making a return to a compound more similar to the 2010 and 2011 ones (that they wear rather than overheat) I don't see the car being any different to what it was in 2010 and 2011 - can be quick in qualifying but then needs an extra pitstop to everyone else. Meanwhile I think McLaren will have a race-winning car at some point during the season.

If that's true then IMO Perez has a chance. He's proven IMO to be good when it comes to tyre wear, but perhaps not as sensitive as Button, which might work against him but might also work for him if he can get the tyres to work under a broader range of conditions and extract more performance from them.

I wouldn't count out a surprise Perez win in Australia. That first race tends to be a bit of a lottery as teams figure out their cars and tyres and drivers make mistakes as they get back into the rhythm of things, which also brings out Safety Cars due to the confines of the circuit. Perez has performed fairly well there in recent years, plugging away looking after his tyres. With a car that also has the pace and the fact that he does have the pace I think it's possible.

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Formerly kai_

I believe Hamilton will get the first victory out of himself and perez.

"Lewis Hamilton's 2013 car, the Mercedes AMG W04, will resemble a Red Bull. It features an ultra-small gearbox and has passed its crash tests. The team need to improve by three seconds to race at the front and half that margin has already been closed, if the wind tunnel figures are correct."