It was the latest in a string of errors for the Mexican, whose aspirations of challenging teammate Max Verstappen for the championship evaporated earlier this year.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz won by 0.019 seconds over McLaren’s Lando Norris, with Perez finishing third.

Verstappen’s fastest lap was ruined by traffic, and he finished the session in fifth place, trailing McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen set the quickest time in the first practice session at Monza.
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Perez’s collision, from which he emerged unharmed and caused just minor damage to his car given the high speed at which he lost control, marred an otherwise successful day for him.

On the race-simulation runs in the final portion of the session, Perez was actually faster than Verstappen by roughly 0.1secs on average throughout the few laps they accomplished before the incident.

Despite the accident, he stated that it had been a nice day for him.

“I understeered off on the exit and tried to keep it nailed,” Perez explained. I thought I had things under control, but then I stepped on some gravel and it was game over.

“The damage doesn’t appear to be very severe. The impact was minimal. I don’t believe we suffered any losses in the end.

“The positive is that the car is performing well, and I’m comfortable with it, and I believe we’re in a good position for the rest of the weekend; I really felt we had a very strong Friday.” This has been our greatest Friday in a long time.”

Norris stated his McLaren was flattered by his fastest lap, which he accomplished on the softest tyres.