Sergio Perez endured a challenging conclusion to his final practice session before qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix when Red Bull decided to bring his car in early due to a suspected power unit leak.

According to Ted Kravitz, Sky Sports’ pit-lane reporter, the team later determined that the issue was related to an oil leak, which was detected after removing the car’s floor.

With just 10 minutes remaining in FP3, Perez’s RB19 was returned to the garage for further inspection and repairs. Although an oil leak is less concerning than a power unit issue, it was still an unfavorable way to end the session, especially given Perez’s mixed day on Friday.

Perez encountered difficulties during FP2 on Friday when he ran wide at Parabolica, traversed the gravel, and made slight contact with the barriers. This incident resulted in a red flag with only nine minutes left in the session.

Despite the setback, Perez remained optimistic, stating, “I thought I had it under control, but then I just touched a little bit of gravel, and that was game over.” He believed the damage was minor and praised the car’s performance, expressing confidence for the remainder of the weekend. He noted that it was one of the strongest Fridays the team had experienced in a while.