Perez fears Red Bull damage 'looks bad' after qualifying crash

Sergio Perez fears the damage to his Red Bull car following a qualifying crash with Carlos Sainz "looks bad" with his team set for a long night of repairs in Monaco.

The Mexican driver crashed by his own accord during Q3 and was then hit by Sainz as his car lay stranded beyond a blind apex.

"I was quite close to my time and I was trying to make it up," he explained, speaking to select members of the media, including RacingNews365.com following the incident.

"Turn 8 has been a difficult one for me throughout the qualifying session, so I was trying to anticipate and get quite early on the throttle. But as soon as I touched the throttle, I could feel that the rear tyre was not gripping in.

"I was actually surprised that Carlos hit me at the time. It's such a shame what happened, and I feel sorry for Carlos, and for the rest of the guys."

Perez says damage looks bad but car "should be okay"

The crash left Charles Leclerc to claim pole position with Sainz in second and Perez in third, albeit with plenty of damage sustained by both cars. The shunt was heavy enough for Perez to be called to the medical centre where he was given the all-clear.

The biggest concern for Red Bull will be at the sensitive rear end of their car, where the gearbox is mounted. Perez fears that it appears the bulk of the damage is in that area.

When asked for an update on his car, he said: "It looked bad. Yeah, certainly, it looked bad from the read," he said. "The hit we got from Carlos made it worse, so we have quite a bit of damage.

"We'll see. I think it should be okay for tomorrow."