Mercedes, Perez was the "plan B"
The Mexican could have been hired if Hamilton refused
Sergio Perez was Mercedes' second choice to replace Michael Schumacher in 2013, according to German magazine Auto Motor und Sport.
In the end Mercedes managed to secure Hamilton who then left McLaren. The Woking team has surprisingly signed Perez.
“Before signing Hamilton, the Silver Arrows bosses had contacted the Mexican” we read in the article.
Schumacher, however, could have kept his seat if he had exercised a unilateral option in his favor for 2013, which the German however allowed to expire in the summer.
“Why play until October when the best time to extend the contract has already passed?” journalist Michael Schmidt asks rhetorically.
“If he had signed after qualifying in Monte Carlo, Hamilton would never have become a topic of discussion,” he added.
An internal source at Mercedes revealed: "Michael's decision to postpone everything until October has forced Mercedes to think about alternatives."
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