Sergio Perez described Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix as “a mess” after he was eliminated from the session early.
The Red Bull driver was caught short in quickly changing conditions, failing to set a time on the slick tyres before conditions worsened and sealed his early exit.
Constantly changing conditions mixed up the order throughout, with intermediate tyres the preferred option through Qualifying 1.
However, a dry line appeared for Qualifying 2 with Alex Albon quickly demonstrating slicks were the best option as he put his Williams on provisional pole.
Perez initially headed out on intermediates before returning to the pits for a set of red-walled soft tyres.
It was the timing of that switch that ultimately proved his undoing.
“It was basically half a lap too late, and track position was really poor with the Alfa Romeo ahead,” he said.
“And once the tyres were up to temperature on the slicks, it started raining harder.”
That forced the Mexican back into the pits for another set of intermediate tyres, by which point it was too late – conditions had deteriorated and lap times slowed.
“I think today, what happened, it was just a mess, really,” Perez said.
“Being half a lap earlier here and there, the picture would have looked a lot different.
“Yesterday we had a good day, so we just have to keep our heads down and it will come to us.
“There was certainly much more potential in the car to get the lap early, but we just didn’t get the lap when we would have,” he concluded.
Perez will start the race from 12th, behind the two Ferraris, after Charles Leclerc missed out in Qualifying 2 for similar reasons, and Carlos Sainz was penalised for impeding Pierre Gasly in Qualifying 1.
The Canadian Grand Prix begins at 14:00 local time (04:00 AEST Monday).
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