Lance Stroll may have only finished in the points twice last season but new team-mate Sergio Perez expects him to deliver more following his move to Racing Point.
Stroll struggled in the inconsistent Williams in 2018 and only claimed top-10 finishes in Azerbaijan and Italy, leaving him 18th in the drivers' championship.
With his father taking control of Racing Point – formerly Force India – Stroll made the seemingly inevitable switch ahead of 2019 and he was ninth at the opening race in Melbourne.
Perez, who finished four places behind Stroll in Australia, has been impressed with the 20-year-old and has backed him to shine this season now he has a reliable car.
"His race pace is, from all the team-mates [I have had], the closest to mine," said Perez, as quoted by Autosport.
We are warming up nicely for some desert action this weekend, are you ready for the #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/J5vv2zEHVH
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"He's already, on Sundays, quite good. I was quite surprised because going for a long run I seemed to find it a bit easier with my previous team-mates, but it's not the case now. He has a good understanding for Sundays
"It's good, it's what you need to score points, especially with this tight midfield."
The Mexican added: "He has the speed, the talent. He works hard. I think he's going to be constantly scoring points, which is great for the team.
"To finish fourth in the constructors you need both cars to score points every weekend.
"He got the maximum out of the car, together with the team and strategy [in Australia]. It's what we need from now to [the final race in] Abu Dhabi."
