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Sergio Perez claims the Charles Leclerc-led Ferrari will be the ‘ones to beat’ at the Monaco GP

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Rishabh Negi | Last updated 5/24/24

The Ferrari F1 team has been on an upward trajectory since the start of the 2024 F1 season. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have been in fine form and seeing the overall progress at the Maranello-based team, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez is expecting them to dominate in Monaco.

Charles Leclerc managed a close third-place finish at the recent Emilia-Romagna GP on the back of a heavily updated SF-24. The reviews regarding the update have been very positive and thus, several people alongside Perez, are expecting big things from Ferrari during the upcoming race weekend.

Moreover, Monaco is the hometown of Leclerc and he would be itching to hit the ground running in a strong fashion.

I expect a very fast Ferrari. I think they will be the fastest. They’ll be the ones to beat. I think if we are able to get a perfect Q3, we can give them a run. Also McLaren will be very strong, and you never know all the other teams. I think it’s going to be very close in between a lot of cars. Sergio Perez said in an interview with RaceFans

Looking at the reaction of the 34-year-old, it is quite clear that he is wary of the Ferrari threat around the 3.3km long Monaco Street Circuit. Moreover, he has indicated that for Red Bull to do well, he and Max Verstappen would need a clean run in qualifying’s Q3 session.

Ex-F1 driver deems Sergio Perez a ‘problem’ for Red Bull

While Sergio Perez is gearing up for a challenging Monaco GP weekend, the former F1 driver, Christijan Albers has given a damning verdict. The Dutchman feels Perez is just not a capable enough driver to be making his trade with Red Bull.

Perez is currently third in the 2024 Drivers’ Championship.

This is exactly what we’ve always talked about. If Red Bull is not competitive, then you simply have a problem with such a team-mate. I’m always surprised that they [Red Bull bosses] don’t see that. I wonder how that analysis is done internally at Red Bull. Christijan Albers said on the De Telegraaf podcast

The ongoing campaign is seven rounds down and with the eighth just a few hours away, it is high time Perez starts putting in consistent performances. He does not have a contract at Red Bull for 2025 and thus, it will be in his best interest to start coming up with solid outings. Quite a few eyes will be glued on him during the Monaco GP weekend.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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