Sergio Perez conscious after heavy qualifying crash

Sauber reported Perez to be conscious and aware.

Sauber's Sergio Perez will be kept in hospital overnight following a heavy crash in Monaco Grand Prix qualifying.

The Mexican, 21, lost control of his Sauber coming out of the tunnel and hit the safety barrier at the chicane.

Sauber said Perez had "concussion and a sprained thigh, but no broken bones and, following a scan, doctors could find no further injuries".

The remains of Perez's car after the incident 

Perez, who is in his first season in F1, is unlikely to be able to take part in Sunday's race.

Sauber added that they would investigate the cause of the accident.

Perez was off line as he came out of the tunnel and was still in the middle of the track when he lost control as the circuit starts to go downhill towards the chicane.

He was at least a full car's length to the left of the racing line, and the lack of grip on the dusty surface there almost certainly contributed to his accident.

I know how hard the barrier is there. The g-forces you pull are incredible.

Jenson Button McLaren driver

another view of the deceased car 

Perez hit the barriers side on and the session was stopped for half an hour while crews extricated him from the car and took him to the medical centre before the barrier was repaired.

Perez, who took his first points in Spain last weekend, is now in Monaco's Princess Grace hospital, to which he was accompanied by his father, physiotherapist and manager.

Perez's accident was the third this weekend suffered by a driver coming out of the tunnel and heading to the chicane after Renault's Vitaly Petrov also crashed there on Thursday and Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg suffered a similar incident at the same place in final practice.

Rosberg's crash was caused by him locking his brakes over the bumps at that part of the track, to which low tyre pressures probably contributed, according to Mercedes.

Unlike Perez, he narrowly missed the barriers at the chicane, coming to a halt in the middle of the track after the corner.

Rosberg's car was launched into the air by 'sleeping policement' in the run-off area at the chicane, but race director Charlie Whiting had these removed before qualifying to prevent that happening in any later crash.

Button, who crashed at the same place in 2005, said: "Sergio Perez had a big accident, I'm glad he is OK.

"I know how hard the barrier is there. The g-forces you pull are incredible.

"I love racing here, it has a special atmosphere, but I still think we can improve the safety and that's an area where we have to push."

Championship leader Sebastian Vettel said he had been asking for updates on Perez's condition as he waited in his car for the session to be restarted.

He joined all the leading drivers in saying their thoughts were with him and offering hopes that he would be back in the car soon.

"There is a shadow over the last qualifying session with the accident Sergio Perez had," Vettel said.

"We were all waiting and I was asking if we can get an update. Hopefully he is racing soon. It is hard to retain your focus."

from bbc sport

A video of Perez's crash