"You also need to give a prize to him" - Carlos Sainz praises Sergio Perez's in-lap, claims that's where he lost the 2022 F1 Monaco GP race win

Carlos Sainz believes Sergio Perez had a better in-lap than him into the pits and that's where his team lost the 2022 F1 Monaco GP win. The Ferrari driver believes the Mexican and Red Bull did a commendable job as a team which made them the clear winners.

Speaking at the post-race drivers’ press conference, the Spanish driver said:

“Where did we lose it? We lost it obviously with very good in-lap there from Checo [Sergio Perez], I guess, that you also need to give a prize to him as a driver and the team Red Bull that they did a very good in-lap but we lost it in the out-lap.”

According to the Ferrari driver, Perez’s in-lap into the pits made all the difference. The Spaniard praised the Mexican and his team for doing a better job than him and Ferrari. He also felt his out-lap was slow, which made him come out behind Alex Albon’s Williams, which was struggling to get out of the way.

Describing where he lost the win against the Mexican, Sainz said:

“I mean to have to hold Sector One and Two behind a lapped car, a Williams that was on Hard tyres, struggling with warm-up. I was getting really frustrated on the radio because I knew this... Checo was going to be fast in the lap, with the Inter, and I was having a very poor out-lap on the Hard because of the traffic. This is how it is.”

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Sergio Perez will be allowed to fight for the championship equally, according to Christian Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner refuted issuing any team orders between their drivers at this stage, due to the narrow margin in the drivers’ championship. With Sergio Perez only 15 points behind Max Verstappen, the Mexican has an equal shot at the championship. In Spain, the two drivers were swapped due to a DRS issue in the Dutchman's car. Horner, however, claimed the scenario will not be repeated.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Horner spoke about Perez and team orders, saying:

“No. He’s in this Championship just as much as Max [Verstappen] is. The difference between the two of them is 15 points or so, which is nothing.”

The Red Bull team principal also felt that Ferrari had a quicker car and it is going to take teamwork and a lot of effort to stop them from winning. He believes Monaco being a tricky circuit for overtaking has made it easy for them to outsmart their rivals in strategy, but the same cannot be said for the next few races.