Haas Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen says that Sergio Perez “squeezed me into the wall” when the pair clashed on the run up to Casino on the first lap of the Monaco GP.
Magnussen looked for a gap on the right of the Red Bull driver, and the cars touched and speared into the barriers.
Magnussen’s team mate Nico Hulkenberg almost squeezed through on the left, but was clipped by Perez, ensuring that both Haas cars were eliminated.
The FIA stewards looked at the incident but neither Magnussen not Perez was penalised, much to the Mexican’s frustration.
“I think the move was unnecessary, we sustained a lot of damage, and it was a very dangerous incident,” said Perez. “I was disappointed it didn’t get investigated, it was an immense crash and my car is completely destroyed.”
Asked by this writer about the collision Magnussen was adamant that Perez was at fault.
“Well, he clearly wasn’t leaving space, but I thought he would,” he said. “I had a good part of my front – my whole front wheel was ahead of his rear wheel – so I did expect him to be leaving room for one car on his right, especially since he didn’t have anyone on his inside.
“On his left there was a completely clear track. He just went and squeezed me into the wall. It’s not good to see both cars in one crash. It sucks. I mean, it’s a shitty situation.”
A frustrated Hulkenberg indicated that both drivers were to blame.
“Well, I saw them racing up the hill, I saw a very sharp, narrow gap,” said the German when asked by this writer about the contact.
“And I saw that Kevin stayed and that Checo also didn’t move. I don’t know if Checo saw him or not. I think unnecessary from both really, it could have been avoided easily. Obviously, for me, who wasn’t directly involved, it’s even the shittiest from all.
“I missed it probably by two-tenths. If I would have been two-tenths further up the road, he would have missed me. But as it was, he hit me with a small margin of his car, but enough to end my race as well.
“Nobody has won Monaco Grand Prix on lap one. You have to take calculated risk and risks that make sense. And it’s always that risk reward question that you have to question yourself.
Regarding the lack of penalties he added: “To some extent, it is definitely a racing incident, lap one, street circuit, narrow, visibility poor, drivers not always exactly knowing where the other car is. And these things happen, unfortunately.”
Adam Cooper F1 