“It is unacceptable to have this kind of mistake” - Sergio Perez admits his ‘costly' mistake after a horror race in 2023 F1 Monaco GP

Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez has admitted that his qualifying mistake at the Monaco Grand Prix cost him dearly in the race on Sunday, May 28.

Perez crashed into the wall at Sainte Devote during qualifying and was eliminated in Q1, which then led to him starting from the last slot on the grid on race day. With a mountain to climb, Perez, starting on Medium tyres, pitted at the end of the opening lap to make the most of clear air by switching to hard tyres.

However, things did not go as planned and Perez eventually finished without points in P16, after making a total of five pitstops. His teammate Max Verstappen, on the other hand, won the Monaco GP and extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 39 points.

After the race, Perez stated that he 'paid the price' for his qualifying mistaking. Speaking to the media, he said (via motorsport-total):

“We paid the price from my mistake [in qualifying]. That has been very costly and I just have to apologise to the whole team because it is unacceptable to have this kind of mistake. I have to move on, learn from it. I cannot afford another zero [points] in the championship.”

The Mexican hopes to bounce back when Formula 1 travels to Barcelona next. He also admitted that he cannot afford to finish another race without points if he is to stay in the hunt for his maiden F1 title.

On this, he said:

“It is very frustrating, I knew that my mistake yesterday was extremely costly, and then that was 25 points [lost]. So very disappointed, but still, I have some hope – but I know that I cannot afford another zero in the championship, so I really hope I can be back to my normal level in Barcelona.”

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"I think it's deliberate" - Jolyon Palmer accuses Sergio Perez of intentionally crashing in Monaco GP qualifying

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer, who now works as a presenter, has stated that Sergio Perez's crash in Monaco GP qualifying session was a deliberate one.

The telemetry and data from Perez's car showed a slight throttle spike when he lost control and had the steering on full lock. After watching Perez's lap with the required data on hand, Palmer opined that the Red Bull Racing driver crashed on purpose, since almost no F1 driver would think of throttling in that situation.

Speaking on a video by F1, he said:

"I think it was [intentional], honestly. And no one really picked it up at the time. Why would he... he was in third, why would he do that? I think he stamps on the throttle with a lot of steering lock and certainly the Verstappen camp within Red Bull were pretty sure that it was deliberate. When I looked into it, I also think it's deliberate."