Man-of-the-moment Sergio Perez plays down suggestions that he could be parachuted into Felipe Massa's Ferrari seat before the end of the season.
Man-of-the-moment not giving thought to talk of Ferrari switch
Sergio Perez expects to remain at Sauber for the rest of the season despite growing speculation that his stunning Malaysian GP performance could lead to Ferrari making a move for him sooner rather than later.
The 22-year-old became just the second Mexican driver, and the first for 41 years, to stand on a Formula 1 podium when he finished second to Ferrari's Fernando Alonso on Sunday having harried the two-time World Champion right into the closing stages of the race until briefly running off the circuit with six laps to go.
Even before his Sepang performance, Perez, a member of Ferrari's driver academy, was thought to be in the running to replace Ferrari stalwart Felipe Massa alongside Alonso when the Brazilian's contract runs out at the end of the season.
But amid a wretched start to the season for Massa, Perez's second place finish at Sepang has only served to fuel rumours that a switch could be imminent - with even McLaren Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh speculating live on
Sky Sports F1 on Sunday evening that "there must be consideration" at Ferrari for making a move for the Mexican before the next round in China.
Perez though is keeping his feet on the ground and says he's simply focused on helping Sauber build on what was their best ever result as an independent team over the remainder of the season.
Asked if he had spoken to Ferrari chief Stefano Domenicali during the post-race celebrations in parc ferme and on the podium, he replied: "No, no, I only congratulated him.
"As a team they did a great job, and for me, my full commitment is with my team, with Sauber.
"Obviously it's only rumours, but no, I will stay with Sauber for the whole season.
"It's only the second race and there's still a long way to go, so we have to keep improving, especially as we're a small team."
Domenicali was asked about the increasingly strong speculation following the end of Sunday's race by
Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz but insisted stories that a change was afoot were "just not true".
Indeed Ferrari have continued to stand by Massa and have vowed to help the 30-year-old work through the problems he has been having with the F2012.
