General

FP3 Report | Sergio Perez wrangles his bull into P1

FP3 Report | Sergio Perez wrangles his bull into P1

28-05-2022 13:00
17

It was Sergio Perez who topped the practice session in Monaco, running the perfect 3 from 3 for the local driver, Charles Leclerc who finished second. He was tightly followed by Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen, as the usual top 4 kept it tight at the top. Swapping positions at the top of each lap as they looked to one-up each other until the very end.

A better session for Red Bull

Things looked tough for Red Bull coming out of Friday's sessions as they were not able to match the pace of the Ferrari duo, especially Charles Leclerc. Although it was Perez who ultimately topped the session, which leaves further questions about Verstappen's confidence and paces this weekend as he was still beaten by both Ferraris. The question that needs to be asked about Red Bull is whether they found something overnight, which allowed them to close the gap. Or if they're slowly building up for qualifying and still sandbagging a bit.

Mercedes is better than yesterday

Although not quite the pace they had in Spain where they were arguably challenging for the top spaces at the end of the practice sessions. They did find improvement from their Friday running this morning, whether that is down to having the new front wing installed or just the Mercedes set up dialling itself in. It will be a very welcome change from the Brackley team as they adapt to the street circuit.

Impressive for Pierre Gasly

It's the Frenchman who placed his Alpha Tauri into P3 with 20 minutes left in the session although eventually finished 5th, after a decent showing from the Italian outfit all weekend so far, as they look to turn their mediocre start to the season around. Monaco would be the place to do it for Gasly, as he's always found a decent chunk of pace around the streets. The Frenchman hasn't finished below seventh at Monaco in his F1 career so far.

Ricciardo worries to continue

After a Friday to forget in the end for Daniel Ricciardo, a crash in FP2 led to questions being asked about his future with McLaren and in F1, as the difference to his teammate Lando Norris was highlighted by many. Although not being able to beat or even really match Norris in FP3 today, he did avoid a crash. Although that was the only positive as he found himself in 16th, a second behind his teammate, who finished in the top six.