Sergio Pérez was involved in the fight for pole position during qualifying for the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix, consistently hovering in the top three positions both in Q1 and later in Q2, having been the fastest driver in third Saturday free practice session.
The Mexican driver slipped into the top three after his first lap in Q3. Checo Pérez ‘s pace had been on display since Q1 and Q2, where he trailed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by just 0.090s.
The options to improve his position ended when the same Mexican driver, in his last attempt in Q3, hit the TecPro barriers located in the curve prior to the entrance of the famous tunnel.
Sergio Pérez ‘s RB18 hit with its rear end and ended up crossing the track in a blind spot. Despite the yellow flags, Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari was unable to dodge it and was unable to avoid the collision, without physical consequences for both drivers, but with considerable damage to the Mexican’s car.
“I suffered quite a bit in turn 8 during qualifying,” Pérez admitted in the post-qualifying press conference, assuring that on his exit lap his tires had heated up less efficiently compared to Ferrari .
“As soon as I put my foot on the accelerator, I felt there was no grip on the car. I tried to play with the throttle to avoid it, but I ended up losing the rear of the car.
Despite this, the Mexican driver will be able to start tomorrow from third place, behind the two Ferraris , as long as they manage to fix his car without breaking the parc fermé, since Checo himself admitted that his rear axle “didn’t look very good “But he trusts his mechanics.
