Did Sergio Perez cost teammate Max Verstappen in qualifying?
Qualifying ended in dramatic fashion as Perez slammed into the barriers at Portier and was collected by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, leading to a traffic jam blockage that resulted in Q3 ending prematurely under a red flag.
The incident prevented several drivers from improving their positions, including reigning world champion Verstappen, who ended up only fourth and behind his teammate.
While Perez appeared to hold the edge over Verstappen throughout qualifying, the Dutchman believes he was improving enough on his final run of Q3 to leapfrog his teammate and challenge for the front row of the grid, though he conceded pole position was always out of reach.
- ‘It would nice to have some luck’ - Lewis Hamilton rues red flag
- These were the worst performers in Monaco qualifying…
- Charles Leclerc claims pole position
- Full qualifying results
“So far it has been a bit tricky for me the whole weekend and of course qualifying in Q3 you want to go all out, it was getting a bit better,” Verstappen said.
“I do think that last run, I opted to do a bit of a different strategy to the cars around me, was actually quite good. I was on a good lap until I got to that corner and there was a bit of a traffic jam.
“It’s very unfortunate, I think we could have done better than fourth - not pole - Charles was too strong today, but would have been nice to be second.
“But that’s Monaco, you do one lap in Q3 and there’s always a risk of a red flag when everyone is trying to risk it all.”
A dramatic end to qualifying #MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/w1A1K3a7wn
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 28, 2022
Horner: Perez didn't cost Verstappen F1 Monaco GP pole
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner denied the suggestion that Perez’s crash cost Verstappen the chance of pole.
"I don't think that pole was on,” he said. “Charles was mighty. Congrats to him because we couldn't do that time.
“It was a shame because both of our drivers could have improved. Max was up. We are disappointed not to be on the front row.”
Verstappen cut a frustrated figure after qualifying and complained over team radio after aborting his lap: “This shouldn’t be allowed. Otherwise it’s just better to do your lap and then just bin it into the wall.”
Horner said he could totally understand his star driver’s feelings.
"There is nothing more frustrating than not finishing,” Horner said. "It is unfortunate."
And Horner is still hopeful Red Bull can challenge for victory at the Principality, despite main rival Ferrari locking out the front row.
“We won't give anything to anybody,” he added. “We will fight as hard as we can. Weather, Safety Cars? A lot can happen."
