I picked out his father immediately. He was the onesitting patiently with the Telmex team jersey draped over the front chair at the entrance to the Starbucks café at Centro Magno.

Uh-oh. I hope this isn't one of those pushy Dads. Like the Williams sisters' father, or Lindsey Lohan's mother; career parents who'll just dominate the interview.

But Antonio Perez is gracious and happy to see me. He buys coffee and quickly starts talking up his 17-year-old son, a motor racing champion in England. And when Sergio shows up, Dad greets him with a kiss on the cheek and leaves for work, trusting me to be alone with his son. No, not a pushy Dad. Just a proud father, as he has every reason to be.

Until a month ago, few outside his own family in Guadalajara had heard of Sergio Perez. But since winning the British Formula Three (F3) racing crown last month at age 17, he has become an instant local celebrity. He's already met the mayor and governor, and has an appointment to meet President Felipe Calderon before he returns to Europe.

The brief flirtation with fame seems to have had little effect on this young man. Dressed in shorts and a t-shirt like a regular teenager, Perez had come from a friend's house. Speaking casually in excellent English, he's clearly been interviewed enough to be comfortable around reporters, but not so much that he's cocky or arrogant.

In fact, he's surprised he's received as much attention as he has.

"When I got off the plane, there were all these people and press there to greet me," he said. "I wasn't expecting any of them at all."

It shouldn't be too surprising. He's the youngest driver ever to win the F3, and Mexico's first hope for having a Formula One (F1) driver in over 50 years.

With 22-year-old rookie Lewis Hamilton vying for the F1 crown this season, it's entirely possible that Perez could also be participating in motor racing's major league by the time he's 20. Hamilton, like Perez, also won the F3 crown, just two years ago.

And it's all the more remarkable precisely because he is Mexican. "There are tough leagues here," he says, "but Europe is a whole other level. The British league is the most competitive in the world.

Perez already knows what sets him apart from other Mexican drivers.

"Most drivers here, they're not professional. They're in it for the money and the fame, not to win. I don't care about the money and fame. I'm in this to win."

This desire to win has been with him his whole life. At age six, he was competing in go-kart races at the air base in his native Zapopan. He kept at it until winning the national go-kart championship at age 15. He then made the jump to professional racing at a lower circuit, in Germany.

"That was the hardest thing," he says. "To be away from home for so long, at such a young age, in a new and different country."

Perez excelled enough to pick up Mexican communications giant Telmex as a sponsor, and moved on to the F3 circuit in England.

"It was hard to adjust to the British accent after learning the U.S. accent in school," he said. "But my team mechanics were all English, so I had to learn pretty quick."

Excelling at whatever he does seems to be Perez's main motivation. He said he dropped Mexican NASCAR driver Adrian Fernandez as his idol, because, although a great driver, he has never won a championship.

He now idolizes golfer Lorena Ochoa, another Guadalajara native. Her similar meteoric rise from child prodigy to the top of women's golf, as well as her dignified manner of conducting herself, is something he wishes to emulate.

"I even started playing golf in England, to be like her," he said.

Asked if he thinks Formula One has eclipsed the driver's skill with automotive technology, he replies, "Oh, absolutely. In F1, the car is 99 percent of the race. In F3 it's about 60 percent. In F1, it would be fairer if everyone had the same car, but too many powerful people would prevent that.

"But at the end of the day, if you want to be a Formula One racer, you have to push yourself ahead, and if you're with a poorer team, you push yourself until you're with a better one."

So how does his family feel as he maneuvers a finely-tuned speed machine around European tracks at speeds of up to 300 kilometers an hour? "They're used to it," he said with a grin. "They know it's dangerous but want me to do well."

As the interview drew to a close, I wondered if I was talking to a future world champion? On the surface, it appears Perez has the confidence and self-control that is so necessary for a top-class racing driver. Is he another Emerson Fittipaldi, Jackie Stewart or Michael Shumacher in the making?

All eyes are now waiting to see if the Guadalajara teen moves up to the European Formula Two circuit (the stepping stone for F1), or if he lands a contract as a test driver on a Formula One team. This part of his future, he said, will become clearer in the next few weeks, as his sponsors get to work behind the scenes.
The whole of Mexico is on alert.