Full Throttle

Press release Monaco GP – Qualifying – Saturday, 28.05.2011   Further update on Sergio Pérez     Weather: sunny and dry, 23°C air, 45°C track     After Sergio Pérez‘s heavy accident in the final minutes of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, of course, the relief that the 21-year-old Mexican didn’t suffer any serious injuries is the overriding emotion inside the Sauber F1 Team. He was taken to the Hospital Princesse Grace in Monaco where he underwent an extensive examination. The medical staff informed the Sauber F1 Team that he escaped the shunt with concussion and a bruised thigh. Pérez will remain in hospital at least overnight and will definitely not start the race on Sunday.   Until the accident Pérez had shown his strongest qualifying performance so far in what is his first Formula One season. He made it into Q3, the qualifying session for the top ten drivers. In Q2 he had finished ninth on a fresh set of super soft tyres (1:15.482 min). The accident happened when he was on his final fast lap in Q3 on another fresh set of super soft tyres. He crashed into the barrier in the fast section after the tunnel. According to the current information, the team has no indication there was a technical failure, but it is investigating the accident further to find the reason for it.   For his team mate, Kamui Kobayashi, qualifying was over after Q2. With a lap of 1:15.973 min on fresh super soft tyres he qualified 13th. The Japanese said: “Sergio’s accident was, of course, a shock and I’m obviously happy he has no severe injuries. In the beginning I didn’t know about the accident because I had been taken for a doping test. In qualifying I still had difficulties with my car, which kept bouncing too much despite some further set-up changes we did in the third free practice. Nevertheless, from my grid position points are within reach and this is what I’m heading for tomorrow.”   Team Principal, Peter Sauber, said: “Of course we are very relieved that Sergio wasn’t seriously injured. Up to the accident he was doing very well in qualifying, and also better than expected as he had outperformed all his direct competitors. For Kamui it didn’t go too well in qualifying, but we know what his skills are and expect them to play a role in tomorrow’s race.”   The team’s Technical Director, James Key, said: “First and foremost we are obviously relieved with the reports that Sergio is okay. It’s always very worrying for a team when you see an accident of that magnitude, so it’s good to hear that he is fundamentally okay. We are looking into what happened. There is no indication at the moment from the data we have seen that there was a problem with the car. But we have to talk to Sergio to investigate further what happened.”