Perez defiant over title chances after Monaco nightmare

Sergio Perez has defiantly confirmed he still holds hope for his Formula 1 Drivers' title chances despite a torrid weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Mexican threw away any opportunity for a strong result with a crash in Q1 on Saturday to ensure he would start the race from last on the grid.

But Perez's race was far from clean, making contact with Lance Stroll, Kevin Magnussen and George Russell in a chaotic dry-wet event on the streets of the Principality, and last year's race winner could only muster a 16th-place finish.

Teammate Max Verstappen's victory took the championship lead up to 39 points after six races and Perez conceded: "It is very frustrating.

"I knew that my mistake [in qualifying] was extremely costly. That is 25 points [gone] so [I'm] very disappointed.

"But still, I have some hope, but I know I cannot afford another zero in the championship so I really hope I can be back to my normal level in Barcelona."

Tricky conditions

Assessing his various troubles during the race, Perez explained: "It was a really difficult day out there.

"Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong and really sad with the performance [of qualifying]. This was the price we were going to pay.

"It was tricky trying to explore the conditions and I just got it wrong."