Perez was pushing eventual pole-winner Charles Lelcerc hard throughout qualifying on Saturday and was just 0.09s slower than the Ferrari driver in Q2 but did trail Leclerc and Carlos Sainz ahead of the final Q3 runs.
On his last qualifying lap, as Perez ran behind Leclerc on the track, he lost the rear of his RB18 as he rounded the Portier right-hander and crashed backwards into the barrier.
As Perez sat stranded in the wreckage, Sainz hit the Mexican’s right-front wheel before the session was suspended by red flags and Leclerc’s pole from the initial laps in Q3 was sealed.
Perez said the incident was “just a shame” because “I think we had more pace than that, but we just couldn’t challenge”.
He added: “I think the strategy with the tyres [was wrong] – especially that final set, it wasn’t up to temperature and it was just too peaky.
“I nearly lost it already into Turn 1 and in hindsight I think we didn’t get it right today.
“[At Portier], I was quite close to my time [from earlier in Q3] trying to make it up. Turn 8 [Portier] has been a difficult one for me throughout the qualifying session.
“So, I was trying to anticipate and get quite early on throttle, but as soon as I touched the throttle, I could feel like the rear tyre was not gripping in and I was playing with it a bit – until I lost it.
“Then I was actually surprised that Carlos hit me at the time. Just a shame what happened and I feel sorry for Carlos and for the rest of the guys, but this is Monaco.”
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Erik Junius
Perez was speaking in the post-qualifying press conference after making a trip to the Monaco medical centre following the crash.
He said he was “all ok” and was surprised his car’s G-sensor had registered a hit powerful enough to require a medical check given the accident occurred at one of the lowest-speed parts of the Monaco layout, already one of the slowest on the F1 calendar.
“I think there was a technical…
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