Fittipaldi on Perez Master of Monaco, and a BS excuse for Ferrari

Big praise came from fellow Latin American Emerson Fittipaldi who said Checo drove the "race of his life" on Sunday however the great Bazilian was far too kind to Ferrari after their Laurel & Hardy antics in Monaco.

Perez celebrated draped in the Mexican flag after making history on the day for his country, and for the occasion racing with a helmet paying tribute to the legendary Pedro Rodriguez, by winning one of the sport's most coveted trophies, which every driver wants to win - Monaco - his third victory in the top flight.

Double F1 World Champion Fittipaldi was impressed with what he saw and the circumstances in which Perez did the deed on Sunday, and told VegasInsider: "Checo Perez has been extremely fast in Barcelona and then in Monaco, since Day 1.

"He deserved to be there. He was there because of his speed. He was faster than Max in qualifying. He was driving fast in the race. The way the race developed, he was the deserved winner. He had tremendous pressure from Carlos Sainz, had tremendous pressure from Max before and his performance was top"

Fittipaldi continued: "He had two great grand prix weekends, the Spanish Grand Prix and Monaco. And I know how difficult it is to not do a mistake in Monaco under tremendous pressure. At one point, he was trying to save the tires and Carlos was right on him, then his gearbox.

"I want to congratulate Checo Perez because this weekend he was the Master of Monaco, for sure. He was fast in practice, fast in qualifying, fast in the race and won the race under tremendous pressure and never did a mistake."

"This is the best win of Checo's career. It is a fantastic win for Mexico, the Mexican Grand Prix is very big. It is good for Latin America. We only have one Latin American driver in Formula 1. There used to be five or six and now we're all counting on Checo Perez. He did a superb job," added the former McLaren and Lotus driver.

Such a good job that he has thrust himself into title contention with the victory he now lies third in the championship on 110 points after seven rounds; six behind second-placed Charles Leclerc and 15 shy of championship leader and teammate Max Verstappen.

It's now a three-horse race for the 2022 F1 world championship title.

Interesting, in his analysis of the race, how Fittipaldi went soft on being critical of Ferrari's massive fumble in Monte-Carlo, yet again losing a race that had their name on it, through their own slip-ups.

The Brazilian made this excuse for the Reds: "To me, it's very difficult for a two-car team to only have one place for pit stop."

"In my experience in IndyCar racing, each car has its own place and I think what happened, Carlos Sainz came in and they asked Charles (Leclerc) to come in. They didn't know he was so close and then as he was turning in they say 'stay out' because they realised that he was so close."

"It can happen and it happened. Theoretically, they need two places to stop for F1 cars and the teams. Then there will not be a conflict. I know that's the system they have in Formula 1 and I respect it but that's what happened.

"If two cars come at the same time, it's a problem. The second car can be delayed and that's what happened," was Fittipaldi's defence of Ferrari's nonsense tactics, as if the other teams had two places to park their cars.

Perhaps his views are tempered by the fact that his off-spring are in or hovering around Maranello; conflict of interest and all that springs to mind.