Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has said he's enjoying driving in Monaco once again but revealed that he and the team are a little surprised by Ferrari's strong pace so far this weekend.

The Mexican is having a strong campaign and will be looking to try and get some big points on the board this weekend to maintain form.

Of course, he'll be wanting to win races and try and reel in the top two in the championship but the form and driving is there at the moment with him, so hopefully it's not long before he gets onto the top step.

This weekend, qualifying is the most crucial it can be thanks to the lack of opportunities for overtakes in the race but it's Ferrari currently appearing to hold the advantage in terms of one-lap pace.

Perez was in the top three for FP1 and FP2 on Friday but Charles Leclerc was out on top both times, and Checo has revealed that Red Bull are actually a little bit surprised by how strong the Scuderia are looking:

“It’s really nice to be back driving in Monaco, it’s always fun out there!

"It has been a good few sessions today for us but the long runs were a bit difficult with the traffic, I couldn’t do more than two laps consistently. All in all we seem to be lacking a bit compared to the Ferraris, they seem really strong.

MONTE-CARLO, MONACO - MAY 27: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Red Bull Racing during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco on May 27, 2022 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

"We will analyse the data and see what we can do but they seem to be very quick today. We were a little surprised by the gap to them today, we were expecting a gap but not such a gap as we’ve seen today. It means there is plenty of work to do and we will see tomorrow, Q3 is when it matters.”