“Traffic” impacts “Checo” Pérez’s performance in Monaco qualifying

Sergio “Checo” Pérez does not hesitate to classify it as a failure his qualification for the Monaco Grand Prix after having been eliminated only in the first rounda result that the Mexican believes was influenced by issues external to Red Bull, including the traffic he had to overcome.

This was revealed by the man from Guadalajara this Saturday after the session that the local driver Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) ended up dominating. For Sergio “Checo” Pérezwho will start from 18th on the grid this Sunday, there is not much else to look forward to in this race, the eighth of the 2024 F1 season.

“It was a disaster, because on my (final) lap I ran into a lot of traffic in Turn 6, in Turn 7 and there was some dirt at the apex of Turn 8, so I had to avoid all that. That’s why I ended up losing a couple of tenths that would have been enough for me to pass.”commented the Mexican to the Sky Sports channel.

“Two or three tenths would have changed everything, but I didn’t get them and unfortunately, the tires were too hot and I couldn’t get through Q1”“Checo” Pérez added, who considered that apparently in the last free practice sessions they were trying to achieve a better performance.

“We should have been in Q3; and considering that the margins have been so small, a better return would have changed things dramatically. We were fifth in the morning (in the last free practice)said the man born in Guadalajara.

Sergio “Checo” Pérezwho comes from an eighth place last weekend in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, considers that it is practically impossible to overcome this terrible classification to try to get fully into the fight for points this Sunday in Monte Carlo.

“We have good race pace here, but we can’t do anything from this position, since it is practically impossible to overtake here. The weekend is fully booked”commented the Mexican who was recently displaced from second place in the drivers’ classification this season.

The Red Bull driver dropped to third place after being overtaken by Charles Leclerc, who is the main favorite to win at home and thus shorten the gap with respect to the championship leader, Max Verstappen, who this Sunday will start from sixth position to try to fight for the vanguard.

The difference between both drivers is 48 points taking into account that the three-time F1 world champion leads with 161 points while the Ferrari driver follows him with 113 points. For his part, “Checo” Pérez follows them with 107 while fourth place is occupied by Lando Norris with 101.

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– The Monaco Grand Prix is ​​here and Sergio “Checo” Pérez is going for victory: How and where to see it in the United States?
– McLaren pays tribute to the legend of Brazilian and world motorsport, Ayrton Senna, with its cars at the Monaco Grand Prix