F1 drivers want better safety after Monaco crashes

World championship leader Sebastian Vettel and former champion Jenson Button want better safety measures in Formula One, after Sergio Perez escaped without serious injuries from a crash in qualifying for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.

The Mexican driver suffered a concussion and sprained thigh after becoming the third driver to crash on Saturday, with Nico Rosberg and Vitantonio Liuzzi unharmed after accidents in practice.

"Things like this are a bit of a wake up call so we have to make sure we learn from this," Vettel said after taking pole position for Sunday's race.

Perez lost control of his Sauber car as he was about to come out of the tunnel, and the front slid over to the right and slammed into the tunnel barrier, sending the car spinning out of control into a tire wall on the circuit.

"For the future, here or places like Singapore, it's our job, the drivers job, to make sure defend ourselves," Vettel said. "(To say) we need this and that much space here and there, and that should be the target."

Button, the 2009 F1 champ, echoed Vettel's sentiment.

"There have been improvements, but we need to find a solution," Button said. "We all love racing here, you know it's a very special circuit for us."

Button has good reason to sympathize with Perez, as he experienced a similar crash in Monaco's famed tunnel in 2003.

"It's an area where it's very difficult to do anything about in terms of safety, because it is what it is in Monaco - a street circuit," Button said. (But) I still think we need to look further at what we should do."

"We're all going to go racing (on Sunday)," Button added. "It is a dangerous sport, but I think we do need to keep tweaking in certain areas."

Perez hit the tunnel wall after going too wide and bounced out sideways, powerless to control the car.

That moment brought back stark memories for Button.

"At that point you become a passenger, you have no control of the car, you lose braking capability," he said. "It's when you first hit the brakes, the rear goes very light."