Sergio Pérez says his crash in the closing moments of Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix was caused by underprepared tyres, although the Mexican was happy to end up third on the grid.
The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver admitted his tyres were not up to optimum temperature heading into his final lap in Q3, and he had already had a small moment at turn one before he crashed into the barriers at Portier, where he was collected by Scuderia Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. who had tried to take avoiding action.
Pérez apologised to his team for giving them repair work they were not expecting to do, but he hopes that from third on the grid he can make progress on Sunday and attack for the race win.
“I knew the timed lap in Q3 was very important but the outlap was even more so, with people not respecting the delta and so I ended up in the final sector with tyres that were too cold and I nearly lost it in turn one,” said Pérez.
“I was thinking the tyre would pick up grip and warm up but it just didn’t and it’s a big shame what happened. I was losing lap time in turn eight so I tried to anticipate the corner very early but it just didn’t work and while, it is frustrating to end the day like this, we have still qualified in the top three in Monaco.
“I am very sorry for my Team, it is going to be a long night for them but hopefully we can recover and be back tomorrow. It was just a precautionary check in the medical centre, I am all ok and now I am looking forward to tomorrow.
“I am on the good side of the grid so I would like to gain one or two positions, it will be tricky but I am up for the fight. It could be a wet track tomorrow so anything can really happen.”
“My pace this weekend has been a bit of a struggle” – Max Verstappen
Team-mate Max Verstappen was one of those caught up in the traffic jam after the crash, and the Dutchman felt he could have qualified on the front row but for the drama.
Instead, the reigning World Champion had to settle for fourth on the grid, not somewhere he has been accustomed to in recent times, but he admitted the whole weekend in Monaco has been a struggle as he’s not found a balance that has suited his driving style.
Verstappen says red flags are always a risk around the tight confines in Monaco, but even if had got his final lap in, he does not think he would have got anywhere near Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who was in a league of his own on Saturday.
“In general, my pace this weekend has been a bit of a struggle, I never really found the perfect balance,” admitted Verstappen. “We were on for a good final lap in Q3, I was pushing to the limit on the last lap until I got to the corner where I hit a little traffic jam!
“It was very unfortunate as I think we could have done better than fourth, not pole position, because I think that Charles is too far ahead, but I think we could have at least got second place. That’s Monaco for you though, it’s completely unpredictable and there’s always a risk of a red flag when everyone is trying to risk it all.
“I think I need to do a little rain dance tonight, shake it up a bit for the race tomorrow because in the dry you cannot pass around here.”
