Perez right to pull out

Sergio Perez's decision to opt out of racing this weekend in Canada shows he has maturity way beyond his 21 years. The Sauber driver spent two days in hospital following his big crash in Q3 at Monaco two weeks ago and told the team he was feeling unwell after FP1, despite being given the all clear by the FIA on Thursday. Sauber boss Peter Sauber said: "Maybe we are being overly cautious, but when it's about the health of our drivers we take zero risks."

Sauber and Perez are absolutely right. In FP2 we saw plenty of incidents and what if Perez had taken an even bigger downturn whilst out on track? It really doesn't bare thinking about on such an unforgiving track. Nevertheless I am thoroughly impressed by the decision of the young Mexican. His heart ruled over his head initially and it must be killing him that he cannot race. Perez, in spite of what some cynics think, is not running scared: he is a young man who knows his limits.

After the Mexican's shock decision, the big question was who would replace him for the Grand Prix? The wily, experienced and ironically former Sauber driver Pedro de la Rosa answered Sauber's call, albeit ten minutes before the start of FP2! The 40 year old Spaniard, who has competed in 85 Grand Prix over an 11 year period and his currently Mclaren's test driver, scored six points for Sauber in 2010 but was replaced for the final five races by Nick Heidfeld.

For those wondering why Sauber's official reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez wasn't asked to fill in, he is currently in Mexico. It seems strange that he travelled with the team, particularly as Perez is competing in his first race since his crash. On his Twitter account, Gutierrez said he would have accepted his team's call: "It's a shame to hear about Montreal, hope 'Checo' gets better, but I never received indication to prevent this situation. I was ready," he said.

Sauber may have missed a trick here with Gutierrez, a la Vettel replacing Kubica at Indianapolis in 2007. However, the main priority is the health of their latest promising driver and I think I speak for everyone when I wish Perez a quick and speedy recovery.

Josh.