Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez said the first lap crash with Haas’s Kevin Magnussen was “very dangerous and out of context.”
The red flag was out on the first lap of the Monaco Grand Prix after Magnussen made contact with the rear of Perez on the run-up to the casino, sending the Red Bull heavily into the wall, causing important damage to both cars.
Magnussen’s teammate, Nico Hulkenberg, was behind the pair and became a victim as he got collected by the Red Bull when trying to avoid the incident.
Speaking with ESPN after the race, Perez said he was “fine, it was a strong impact,” and that he had “a little headache, general discomfort.”
However, the Mexican admitted he was “more upset about the car, when I saw how it ended.”
“It was totally unnecessary, first lap, you’re fighting for the last places… Having to go so hard at the limit and not let off the accelerator seemed very dangerous to me and totally out of context in Formula 1.”
Perez said he first thought it was Hulkenberg who crashed into him, but that he had told him “that it was Kevin [Magnussen] and that he had nowhere to go.”
“I asked Kevin where he planned to go, and well… We didn’t get anywhere,” the Red Bull driver concluded.
When asked by ESPN about the incident, Magnussen blamed Perez by saying that the Mexican turned toward the wall as his front wing was alongside the Red Bull’s rear, causing the crash.