It was an up and down opening day of the FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2021 for Sergio Perez, who topped the timesheets in FP1, before finish FP2 in P8.
After making adjustments to the car between session, it was a case of one step forward two steps back for the Mexican, who now has plenty of work to do between now and Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session.
Sergio Perez Delighted With Opening Session Pace
Sergio Perez looked dialled in as the session got underway, so it was no surprise to see him finish in P1. However, adjustments that didn’t quite work out and a resurgent Ferrari saw him tumble down the standings in FP2.
“It’s great to drive in Monaco again after not racing here last year. I’m enjoying it a lot as it’s such a fantastic track. We had a very good FP1 and the car was feeling strong, we made a few changes between sessions and I think maybe we took a step backwards but it’s hard to really know as I had traffic on my soft tyre run. I think we probably have work to do on our short runs but we have lots of information to look at now ahead of qualifying on Saturday when hopefully we can be in the mix. Even though he missed most of FP1, Charles still managed to end the session fastest so the Ferraris are looking strong but let’s see who sits where on Saturday when it counts,” said Perez.
Frustrating Day For Max Verstappen
The return to Monte Carlo was a frustrating one for Max Verstappen, who struggled to find clear track in both sessions, which saw his lap times compromised, making it hard to get a true indication of his qualifying pace.
“It of course feels good to be back out on track in Monaco and although we did quite well in FP1, this afternoon’s session was tricky and I would have hoped that we could have been faster. We were too slow in FP2 and we really need to find some pace because everyone has traffic, you have to look to optimum lap times and optimum sectors and we were quite off. I usually feel quite comfortable in the car but that has not come yet this weekend. Luckily, we have a free day tomorrow to look at a few things to improve to make sure qualifying goes well on Saturday,” added Verstappen.