Monaco result hits Perez hard: 'Know I can't afford it in the championship'

A defeated Sergio Perez appeared in the media room after the Monaco Grand Prix. A costly mistake in qualifying forced him to start at the back and he eventually finished outside the points.

Monaco result hits Perez hard

Perez was stuck behind Lance Stroll for a long time during the race and experienced a couple of incidents, making three visits to the pits. In the end, he got no further than 16th place, forcing him to surrender 25 points to Max Verstappen.

Asked if he will be able to close the gap in the coming races, it is clear that Perez himself realises that will be a huge task. "I will try in the next race. Some victories are crucial, you know, in my hopes for the championship. So I will really try my best," he said in conversation with Viaplay.

"It was a really difficult day out there and everything that could have gone wrong went wrong," Perez continued with Sky Sports. "Basically, from yesterday, you know, with my mistake, we knew that this was the price that we were going to pay."

The Red Bull Racing driver is not giving up hope, but at the same time, he is all too aware of the current situation. "I knew that my mistake yesterday was extremely cost costly and then that was 25 points. So, yeah, very disappointed, but still, you know, 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," Perez said.