Perez shrugs off “fairly small” FP2 crash: “Best Friday in a while”

Perez enjoyed an encouraging day at Monza, finishing third-fastest behind Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris in FP2.

It’s a rare occasion that Perez was ahead of teammate Max Verstappen as he goes in search of his first pole position since Miami.

Perez lost control of his RB19 at the final corner in the final 10 minutes of FP2, running wide into the gravel before spinning.

Despite his late shunt, Perez is optimistic about his chances.

“I understeered off on the exit and tried to keep it nailed,” Perez said. “I thought I had it under control, but then I just touch a little bit the gravel, and that was game over.

“It doesn’t look too bad to me, the damage, the hit was fairly small. I don’t think we lost anything at the end, I think two laps. So nothing representative in that regard.”

Perez was very encouraged by his level of pace prior to his crash.

“The positive is that the car is performing well. I’m feeling comfortable with it and I think we are in a good position for the rest of the weekend. I really felt like we had a very strong Friday,” he added.

“I think definitely this has been the best Friday in a while for us.

“We’ve been working really hard. I think we’ve found some positive steps in the car so hopefully we can show it all tomorrow and on Sunday.”

On the other hand, Verstappen feels there’s room for improvement, admitting he doesn’t have “a complete picture” yet.

"That can be tricky at Monza, and I think I could have done a little better,” Verstappen explained.

"I was still fine-tuning [the car] between the low and high-speed corners, but I am confident that it will be fine. 

"It was hard to get a good look at everything in the second session, so we still have some work to do. 

"During my fastest lap, I got held up a little bit in the second sector, and during the long run, I couldn't really do many laps, so I couldn't get a complete picture. 

"But for the long runs, it was the same for everyone, and there are improvements in the pipeline."