Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen pointed the finger at each other after their first-lap collision which brought out an early red flag at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The pair came together as Haas’ Magnussen attempted to go for a gap inside Red Bull’s Perez on the exit of Turn One heading up towards Beau Rivage on the opening lap.
Magnussen’s team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was caught up in the ensuing chaos as well, ending all three’s participation in the race, and afterwards 2022 Monaco Grand Prix winner Perez lay the blame squarely on the Dane.
“It was an immense crash, one I’m disappointed about,” Perez said. “I think it was totally unnecessary at that point of the race and there was no need for that.
“At some point you have two options: Lift or have a contact, and I think it was too unnecessary with the speeds we were doing, and it was a massive contact.
“It was important to take things a little bit calmer.”
Both of their cars being taken out in the incident compounded a miserable weekend for Haas on the back of both drivers being disqualified from Qualifying and sent to the back of the grid for the race due to a technical infringement.
For his part, Magnussen was adamant there was a gap for him to go for and that he was forced into the barrier by Perez’s actions.
“From my point of view, I had a good part of my front on Perez’s rear and when he went to the wall I got pushed to the wall and made contact with him,” Magnussen said.
“I trusted he was going to leave space for me since I was there. It’s not a corner where you’re braking into it, it’s a bend on the straight so you have to have a car otherwise you leave the other guy no option.
“From my point of view, I was there, and I got squeezed to the wall.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Kevin Magnussen felt Sergio Perez should’ve given him more room as the two collided at the start of the Monaco GP.
Ultimately, neither driver faced punishment for the incident after the stewards deemed it to be a racing incident which needed no further investigation.
That decision raised a few eyebrows, not least those of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who came to the defence of Perez.
“I was surprised it wasn’t investigated because it was quite a hefty incident,” Horner said. “Kevin had a wheel up the inside in a part of the track that only ever narrows, and you would have expected him to back out.
“Not only has he destroyed Checo’s race and the car, he’s also destroyed his team-mate’s race. So, not very clever.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Jenson Button analyses the crash between Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix should have been avoided.
“Cars can be fixed, but the structure and the halo and everything did its job, so that’s the most important thing, that Checo was able to walk away from what looked like a very nasty incident unscathed.”
Hulkenberg did not apportion blame to either driver for the incident, instead ruing his own bad luck at being caught up in the carnage.
“It was a typical lap-one racing accident,” Hulkenberg said. “Two drivers who both didn’t want to bail out and didn’t give enough room on a tight track like Monaco, and I was the unlucky victim there.”
Magnussen or Perez at fault? Sky Sports F1’s pundits’ views
Jenson Button:
“It’s surprising [Perez] knew [Magnussen] was there and didn’t move to the left a little bit more.
“It was a horrible impact and because you’re going at such a high speed there you end up about 300 metres away from the incident.
“It’s a real strange one. You’ve got to say both guys should have given each other more room.
“Is it a racing incident? It kind of is because Checo knew Kevin was there and maybe should have given him a little bit more room, but if a car is coming to the right doing 150mph, I’d back out.”
Martin Brundle:
“It was unnecessary from Kevin Magnussen to keep his car there.
“There was a moment when K-Mag should have abandoned that.
“It was not worth the risk up there. You are fighting at the back against a Red Bull when you are not anywhere near alongside.”
Formula 1 leaves Europe for the final time before the summer break as the championship moves on to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. Watch every session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from June 7-9 live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday’s race at 7pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime