Sergio Perez believes his time at McLaren still damages his standing in the driver market, but insists he is still ready to step up to a top team should the opportunity arise.
Back in 2012 Perez was one of F1's hottest properties after scoring three podiums in one season with Sauber and was linked to a drive with Ferrari before accepting a deal with McLaren for 2013. However, his arrival at the British team coincided with the start of its decline and he scored fewer points in 2013 than he had the previous year with underdogs Sauber. He was replaced by Kevin Magnussen for 2014 but managed to secure a deal to race with Force India where he has scored three podiums in the last three seasons.
Asked if his most recent podium at Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix might convince F1's top teams to hire him in the future, Perez said: "I hope not only this one, I hope what I have been doing over the past years.
"I had a really tough time at McLaren and it seems that this is what everyone remembers, my time at McLaren but no one remembers my time at Sauber, my time at Force India. All I can do is keep doing my job, keep doing as well as I can, keep improving as a driver."
At 26 years of age, Perez says he is a better driver now than he has ever been.
"I think in the last years I have improved a lot. I'm a more complete driver in all aspects, qualifying, race pace, better experience. So if the opportunity ever comes, I will be ready for it and I'm up for it. If not, all I can keep doing is doing my job."