Formula 1 Italian GP
Perez hails "best F1 Friday in a while" despite Monza FP2 off
Red Bull Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez says he enjoyed his "best Friday in a while" despite his brush with the wall in second practice.
Filip Cleeren
Edited: Sep 2, 2023, 3:03 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Perez went off at the exit of the iconic Parabolica corner, bringing out a second red flag in the session topped by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.
Perez was fortunate to escape with only minor contact with the outside barriers, tapping the wall with his rear wing.
Explaining the crash Perez said: "I understeered off on the exit and I tried to keep it nailed. I thought I had it under control but then I touched a bit the gravel and that was game over.
"It doesn't look too bad, the damage. It was fairly small, so I don't think we lost anything in the end. A few laps, so nothing representative in that regard."
The incident didn't dent an otherwise "very strong" session for Perez, calling it his "best Friday in a while" after finding a solid set-up baseline with the RB19.
"The positive is that the car is performing well. I'm feeling comfortable with it," he explained after finishing third-fastest just 0.185s behind pacesetter Sainz.
"And I think we are in a good position for the rest of the weekend. I really felt that we had a very strong Friday.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
"This has been the best Friday in a while for us. I think we found some positive steps in the car, so hopefully we can show it all tomorrow and on Sunday."
Team-mate Max Verstappen thought he had more "fine-tuning" to do after finishing 0.276s in arrears, although the Dutchman added that he was hindered on his quickest lap.
"We have been trying a few different wing levels and we still need to analyse what way to go, it's sometimes a tricky thing around Monza," said the double world champion.
"From my side it probably could have been little bit better. We're still fine-tuning a bit from low speed to high speed, but I'm quite confident we will get there.
Read Also:
- Horner: Wolff has 'total lack of understanding' if he thinks RB19 favours Verstappen
- F1 Italian GP: Sainz tops FP2 from Norris as Perez crashes
- McLaren enjoys being "heavily challenged" by vocal Norris on F1 team radio
- F1 teams think FIA had good reason to act on "rubbery nose boxes"
"Also, I was a bit interrupted in FP2 to get a proper read on a few things. But still a bit of work to do.
"On the short run I was blocked a bit in sector two and then in the long run we didn't really get to do a lot of laps, so you don't really get a good idea on it.
"I think on our side we can do a better job, but it's not been the end of the world."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Horner: Wolff has 'total lack of understanding' if he thinks RB19 favours Verstappen
Next article Massa skips Italian GP amid legal process over 2008 F1 title
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Filip Cleeren
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 d
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Latest news
Yamaha may not be competitive immediately in MotoGP's 850cc era, says Pramac
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
3 h
Yamaha may not be competitive immediately in MotoGP's 850cc era, says Pramac
You Ask The Questions: Jack Miller
MotoGP
Qatar GP
You Ask The Questions: Jack Miller
Why the anticlimactic WEC title showdown was the worst-case scenario
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
7 h
Why the anticlimactic WEC title showdown was the worst-case scenario
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe