Carlos Sainz says he was simply unable to stop in time to avoid a crash with Sergio Perez during the final moments of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix. Perez span on his final push lap, and hit the barriers at the entrance to the tunnel. The marshals waved a yellow flag as Sainz approached, but the Spaniard was unable to react and stop in time to avoid contact with the Red Bull. That resulted in the red flag being thrown as the session was brought to a premature stop, leaving Charles Leclerc on pole position. Offering his version of events, Sainz told Sky Sports F1 : "Perez crashed in front of me and I was on my flying lap. I saw the yellow flag just coming into Turn 8. I had to hit the brakes and obviously tried to avoid him – but it's a shame. "It's another year that a red flag causes the end of our session, so that I cannot go before for pole position, but it's typical Monaco!"
Sainz optimistic Ferrari can claim great Sunday result
Despite the crash, Ferrari still claimed a front row lock-out for the Monaco Grand Prix, a race so often won from the front. When asked if he felt he had the pace to take pole position away from his teammate, Sainz continued: "I think so, yeah. We had really good pace on all days and I was just building it up all through qualifying. "We will never know, so it's impossible to say but I was feeling good with the car today. "Let's try and finish the job tomorrow. I think we are in a great position to score a great result for a team and the car has been amazing all weekend."
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