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MONTE CARLO: It was a mixed day for Red Bull in Monaco yesterday as championship leader Max Verstappen produced a stunning late lap to secure pole position while Sergio Perez rammed his car into a wall and will start from the back of the grid.
Verstappen admitted he touched a few “barriers and walls” as he “risked everything” to secure his maiden Monaco pole but a downcast Sergio Perez said he was “really disappointed” with himself after crashing out in the opening minutes of yesterday’s qualifying.
The defending double world champion Verstappen fought back during an intense finale to a spectacular Q3 session to outpace rivals Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso.
It secured him the 23rd pole position of his career after it had appeared that it would Ferrari and Aston Martin celebrating instead.
The Dutchman glanced a barrier in the Swimming Pool complex and another at the exit of Anthony Noghes on his way to a lap that secured him pole by less than a tenth of a second.
“I just struggled a bit to put it all together in the first lap with warm-up of the tyres and then just putting it all together, in all the sectors,” he said.
“But I knew that on the last lap I had to do it because they improved and I also knew, going into the last sector, I was down on them... So, I had to push flat-out in the last sector and risk everything to get back the lap time and luckily we did well.
“I touched a few guardrails and walls,” he added. “I was always quite quick in the last sector, but I definitely pushed a bit harder in the last lap.”
He said he felt compromised because his tyres were not prepared properly and he had to drive conservatively and then found himself behind other cars.
“It definitely wasn’t an ideal start to the lap, so maybe, that’s why my sector one was a little bit down and then it all started to come because it’s all about confidence as well around here.
“So, a lot of things come into play to have a perfect lap here.
“It’s always super-hectic. Finally, we had clean running in Q3, as well, so it was nice for everyone to just push to the limit. The whole qualifying session, I think went pretty well.”
Perez ‘big mistake’
It was a different story for Perez, who begins the weekend 14 points behind his teammate.
The 33-year-old Mexican, winner of last year’s race, lost control of his car at Saint Devote and slid heavily into the barriers.
He was unhurt but his car was damaged and he was unable to continue, meaning he starts at the back on a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult — even for a renowned street driver like Perez.
“It was going well,” he said. “And I was happy with the balance of my car, but in Q1 naturally you are progressing and pushing to find new limits.
“But going into the corner, I just lost the rear end quite late into the corner and because it was so late I had nowhere to go.
“So, I ended up touching the wall, which is a big mistake from my side — and I’m very sorry for my team.
“I’m really disappointed with myself and it’s going to be a very difficult day tomorrow to do anything.
“I can’t believe what I’ve done. It just caught me by surprise and there was nothing I could do.” — AFP
