Sergio Perez has described Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim as his "second father", crediting him with shaping virtually every stage of his Formula 1 career.
Perez's relationship with the Slim family dates back to his childhood, when his father, Antonio Perez Garibay, worked in motorsport promotion alongside Mexican racer Adrian Fernandez.
That connection eventually brought the young Perez into Escuderia Telmex, the driver development programme founded in 2002 by the Slim family to support Mexican and Latin American racing talent.
Telmex funding paid for Perez's move to Europe as a teenager to race in Formula BMW, and continued through his rise via British Formula 3 and GP2.
When Perez graduated to Formula 1 with Sauber in 2011, that backing came with him: Telmex signed a commercial partnership with the Swiss team alongside his race contract, bringing sponsorship from America Movil brands such as Telmex, Telcel and Claro.
That support has followed Perez through Sauber, McLaren, Force India, Racing Point and Red Bull, with Escuderia Telmex functioning less as a traditional management agency and more as a long-term personal backing project tied directly to the Mexican driver.
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Perez - 'My biggest supporter'
Reflecting on that support, Perez left no doubt about its significance.
"Obviously, they have been super important to me," said Perez, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix.
"Without Carlos, I wouldn't be here. He's been my biggest supporter since I was very young. Not just in terms of financial support. He's basically my second father because he's really followed my career, really followed me personally.
"He's a really close friend of mine. He knows everything that's going on in my life, and he has always given me very good advice throughout my career."
The 36-year-old Cadillac driver will get another reminder of his home support next weekend, when F1 heads to Mexico City for what will be his 300th grand prix start.
Asked whether he was bracing himself for the occasion, Perez replied: "Yeah, especially as I wasn't there last year.
"This year, I'm really looking forward to it. We're doing a road show on the Wednesday before.
"It's my 300th race as well at home, so it's pretty incredible that all of this is happening in Mexico. [I am] Super, super happy and so much looking forward to it."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding as they look ahead to this weekend's United States Grand Prix! Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari being urged to have a deep conversation is a big discussion, as is all three believing Max Verstappen is the favourite this weekend.
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