F1 Monaco GP: Sergio Perez pips Leclerc in final practice
28th May 2022Red Bull’s Sergio Perez closed out Monaco practice with the fastest lap, 0.041 seconds quicker than Monaco’s home hero, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
How final practice unfolded…
As the pit exit light went green, the Williams of Nicholas Latifi was the first driver to venture out onto the Circuit de Monaco, the Haas of Kevin Magnussen quickly followed.
By the five-minute mark, Latifi was the first to set a timed lap with a 1:19 – on the medium, yellow-ringed, tyres – but this was soon beaten by Alpine’s Fernando Alonso who was on the soft, red-ringed, tyres.
It wasn’t until the 10 minute mark when the heavy hitters finally ventured out onto the circuit with the likes of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Naturally, it wasn’t long until Leclerc topped the timing boards with a 1:14.008 lap, 0.106 seconds quicker than Sainz.
By the halfway mark, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez topped the timing board with a quick 1:13.297 ahead of Leclerc who set an identical time. However, Ferrari’s Monegasque soon leaped over Perez after he pieced together an incredible lap: 1:12.885, 0.412 seconds faster than the Mexican.
Race control noted an impeding incident between Sainz and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, which they decided it would be investigated after the session.
Mercedes’ looked to have a mixed weekend as they look to finalise their set ups ahead of qualifying later on Saturday. With 20 minutes left on the clock, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton sat P12 and P14 respectively, more than a second off the pace of Leclerc.
With less than 15 minutes to go, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou were noted for impeding, while Sainz and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel were also noted for the same issue.
The Verstappen/Zhou incident was due to be investigated after the session. On the other hand, the Sainz and Vettel incident required no further action.
Sainz topped the table with just over 10 minutes on the clock, ahead of Verstappen who also improved his time. However, Leclerc and Perez beat both drivers with the former on top with a 1:12.702, 0.075 seconds quicker than the Mexican Red Bull.
But Perez and Leclerc soon traded places. The Mexican had jumped to the top of the timing sheets before the Ferrari driver returned to the top with less than three minutes on the clock. But the #11 Red Bull soon returned to P1 as he pipped Leclerc by 0.041 seconds.
In the dying minutes of FP3, another impeding incident occurred. The incident regarded Russell and Perez, the former being the one who was impeded, and it was noted by the stewards. The incident was upgraded to an investigation, after the session.
That’s it for the article: F1 Monaco GP: Sergio Perez pips Leclerc in final practice!
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
