Hülkenberg believes the first-lap crash was “not necessary”
Nico Hülkenberg, declares that his accident at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix was "stupid" and "unnecessary" on the part of Sergio Perez and his Haas teammate, Kevin Magnussen.
From the first lap, Checo Perez and Kevin Magnussen clashed, sending the Red Bull driver into a violent crash that caused a red flag. Nico Hülkenberg, who was following them, was also caught in the accident after being unable to avoid Perez’s rotating Red Bull, which hit his rear axle, ending the race for the three drivers on the spot.
“It was obviously stupid between Kevin and Checo,” Hülkenberg told Sky Germany. “I don’t know if Checo saw Kevin. Checo could have left some space. At the same time, I think Kevin was also very optimistic in staying there, where the track narrows and there are small turns up to turn 3.”
« I think it was unnecessary on both their parts, it could have been easily avoided. Obviously, for me, who was not directly involved, this is the worst situation of all. I probably missed it by two tenths. If I had been twice as far down the road, I would have missed it. I’m disgusted and disappointed because everyone on the team, we all invest a lot of energy and time, and it’s just frustrating. »
After the race, he was asked if he understood why Magnussen tried to pass by such a small gap on a circuit where overtaking is extremely difficult, he replied: « Yes, of course, but no one has ever won the Monaco Grand Prix on the first lap. So, you have to take calculated risks and risks that make sense… It always comes down to that risk-reward ratio that you have to answer for yourself. »
Magnussen escapes a penalty.
Magnussen declared that he expected Perez to leave more space as the curve of the road meant the gap on the Danish driver’s right side was naturally beginning to close. “Well, he clearly didn’t leave the space I thought he would leave,” he argued. “I had a good part of my front, my entire front wheel was in front of his rear wheel. So, I expected him to leave space for a car on his right, especially as he had no one on the inside. To his left, the track was completely clear. So he just pushed me into the wall.”
It’s not good to see both cars in the same crash. That sucks. It’s a really crappy situation. Magnussen is just two penalty points away from a race ban but escaped a sanction after FIA stewards deemed the incident a racing one, saying he would have been very surprised if he had been penalized for the contact. It was an early end to a frustrating weekend for Haas, with both drivers relegated to the back of the grid because their rear wings didn’t pass inspection after qualifying.
